The Rivals Of Twilight Zone

"Twilight Zone" (1959 - 1964) is acknowledged as being one of the greatest TV shows of all time. A perfect masterpiece of writing, acting and direction that brought a sophisticated mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, mystery, irony and social commentary to prime-time television that was not only critically acclaimed but successful as well. It actually made a celebrity out of a lowly writer, Rod Serling, who managed to make screenwriters look cool. It also had one of the most iconic theme songs of all time. Even people who have never actually seen the show instantly recognize the song.

1980's "TWILIGHT ZONE" THEME BY THE GRATEFUL DEAD;


One of the strong points of "Twilight Zone" was it's variety. Some episodes were serious sci-fi/fanatsy stories while others might range from somber fables to eerie supernatural mysteries to odd ironic comedies with twist endings. Then there are those impossible to categorize episodes like the one where Ann Francis wanders through a department store trying to recall how she got there only to discover that she is in fact a manikin. Or the one where a group of oddly matched people struggle to escape from a cell only to have it revealed that they are actually a group of dolls locked in a child's toybox.



"Twilight Zone" was the brainchild of Rod Serling, a respected and award winning screen-writer who had worked in several different genres before deciding that Sci-Fi/Fantasy with a twist ending would be an effective way of telling stories that would have a larger social message. There had been such a tradition in Sci-Fi/Fantasy since the days of Jules Verne, HG Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mary Shelly and in early horror films such as "The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari", "Metropolis", "Der Golem" and "King Kong". However by the 1950's much of this school of serious Sci-Fi had largely gone out of style and been replaced by Gothic horror (numerous Dracula, Wolfman and Mummy remakes by Hammer Films) or more cartoonish Sci-Fi aimed at kids and teens such as "Buck Rogers", "Flash Gordon" and various superheros. There were some notable exceptions like "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and some HG Wells adaptations like "The Time Machine" and "Things To Come" but for a respected writer like Serling to turn to the genre was a bit of a gamble. Serling would originally be the writer for the series but he would soon assemble a stable of talented writers who he would oversee as producer. Originally seen as a serious si-fi/fantasy/supernatural/mystery anthology, Serling would soon add some ironic comedy touches in the vein of O.Henry. The high quality of the scripts would soon attract an impressive collection of excellent actors to the show (some more than once) including the likes of;
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, George Takei (all in "Star Trek" of course), Burgess Merideth, Robert Duvall, Anne Francis ("Honey West"), Inger Stevens ("Farmer's Daughter" & "Hang Em High"), Marlon Brando, Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, Mickey Rooney, Claude Akins ("Inherit The Wind", "The Killers"), Patrick McNee ("The Avengers"), Charles Bronson, Jack Klugman, Lee Marvin, Mary Badham ("To Kill A Mockingbird"), Ian Wolfe ("Witness For The Prosecution" and "WKRP"), Telly Savalas ("Kojack"), James Coburn, Richard Deacon ("Dick Van Dyke Show"), Buddy Ebsen, Joan Blondell, Martin Landau, Jackie Cooper ("Superman"), Micheal Constantine, Joseph Schildkraut, Mariette Hartley, Elizabeth Montgomery ("Bewitched"), Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn, Bill Bixby ("The Hulk"), Wally Cox ("Mr Peepers"), Janice Rule ("Matt Helm; The Ambushers"), Don Gordon ("Bullit"), Arline Sax ("Star Trek"), Susan Oliver ("Star Trek"), Diana Hyland ("Eight Is Enough"), Cedric Hardwicke, Warren Oates, Patrick O'Neal, Dennis Hopper, Rod Taylor ("The Time Machine"), Morgan Britanny ("Dallas"), Nehemiah Persoff, Fritz Weaver, Vera Miles, Martin Milner ("Sunset Strip" & "Adam-12"), Ida Lupino, Martin Balsam, Simon Oakland ("The Night Stalker"), Tim O'Connor ("Buck Rogers"), Jack Warden, Jack Weston, Gig Young, James Best ("Dukes Of Hazard"), George Grizzard, Howard Duff, Roddy McDowell, Albert Salmi, Russell Johnson ("Gilligan's Island"), Ivan Dixon ("Hogan's Heros"), Dana Andrews, Jack Albertson ("Chico & The Man"), Ann Jillian, Pat Hingle, James Whitmore, Jack Weston, Dean Stockwell, Richard Kiel ("Moonraker" and "Eegah"), David McCallum ("Men From Uncle") Billy Mumy, Shelly Berman, Murray Hamilton ("Jaws"), Jean March ("Willow"), Warren Oates, Dick York ("I dream Of Genie"), Jonathan Winters, Jim Hutton and David Wayne (both in "Ellery Queen"), Sebastian Cabot, Ernest Truex ("His Girl Friday" and a former silent film actor with a resume going back to 1913) and Estelle Winwood (who had a career going back even further and would continue acting past her hundredth birthday). Some of these were well known names even then, including several past and future Oscar winners and nominees. And yet the biggest star of the show would surprisingly turn out to be Serling himself as host who would introduce each episode with a trademark droll half grimace/half smirk and ever present cloud of cigarette smoke. For the first few shows his intros were actually done off-camera before someone figured out that Serling had the charisma to carry the show.



"Twilight Zone" is not without it's faults. It's approximately twenty-two minute length (half hour minus ads and intros & outros) meant that some scripts feel a little rushed. Rod Serling's desire to use stories to promote his deeply held political beliefs mean that some episodes can be preachy. But with the exceptionally well written and acted stories "Twilight Zone" left some classics still instantly remembered today. Poor, beautiful, doomed Inger Stevens meeting death on the highway again and again. Burgess Merideth emerging from his bank vault to discover the world has been destroyed except for his beloved books. Jack Klugman playing a game of pool beyond the grave with Jonathan Winters. William Shatner's well founded fear of flying. A frightened old lady discovering that death looks a lot like Robert Redford. Bored, cynical David Wayne becoming immortal then finding that even more boring. Young Billy Mumy sending annoying adults to the cornfield. Inger Stevens discovering she's a robot. Anne Francis discovering she's a manikin. Charles Bronson wandering the post nuclear world and discovering Elizabeth Montgomery. Shelly Berman discovering he is as annoying as he finds everybody else. The neighbours on Maple St discovering they are the real monsters. Telly Savalas pissing off the wrong child's doll. And of course; "To serve man; It's a cookbook!".

The iconic "Twilight Zone" theme would be covered in an epic version by the Ventures and later the Grateful Dead and Korn. OK; we can forget about that last one. There's also Golden Earing's 1980's hit "Twilight Zone" which has little to do with the show but is still pretty cool.

THE VENTURES ~ "TWILIGHT ZONE";


"Twilight Zone" ran from 1959 to 1964 on CBS, originally as a half hour show until season four when it was increased to an hour, presumably to compete with the one hour shows of "Outer Limits". The next season the network cut it back to a half hour in a series of network budget cuts and lineup changes that would lead to the show's cancellation the next year, along with "Outer Limits" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Serling would attempt to start again with an abortive show at ABC which didn't make it to air. Then he returned to CBS where he tried a comeback with an abortive western show which only lasted a few episodes. Still later was the fiasco of "Night Gallery" in 1970 for which he gave up creative control only to be forced out by the network who it turned out only wanted television's most honored writer to act as the droll host. That lasted until 1973. After that he gave up television and taught screenwriting at an upstate New York college. He died of heart disease brought on by his trademark chain smoking in 1975. "Twilight Zone" would return in the 1980's and again in the 2000's with episodes which sometimes were almost line-by-line copies of the originals.



But enough about "Twilight Zone", there's really nothing new to be said about the timeless show at this point. Except that while "Twilight Zone" may have been the greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Mystery show it was as not alone in delivering sci-fi/fantasy/mystery anthology to prime-time television. It wasn't even the first of it's kind.

The team of classic TV fantasy/mystery/sci-fi can basically be broken down into four categories; a)The Big Three ("Twilight Zone", "Outer Limits" & "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in that order), b)The Pioneers, shows from the first generation of TV ("Tales Of Tomorrow" & "Lights Out"), c)The Journeymen, shows that were successful enough to be of some note but clearly not as iconic as the Big Three and d)The Ringers, shows that didn't actually make it on the air at the time but somehow survived anyway ("The Veil" & "13 Demon Street").

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"THE OUTER LIMITS";


One of the most respected anthology shows was "The Outer Limits", a contemporary show which ran from 1961 to 1964 on ABC. Billed as a Science Fiction anthology with shows running a full hour as opposed to the half hour formats of the other anthology shows. The episodes had bigger budgets than the the other shows allowing for better special effects and more mobile film-work rather than some of the more studio bound shows like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Tales From Tomorrow" or "One Step Beyond". Like "Twilight Zone" they were also able to attract a stable of notable actors, many of whom also appeared on "Twilight Zone", including;
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan (all later in "Star Trek"), Robert Culp ("I Spy"), David McCallum ("Man From Uncle"), Eddy Albert ("Green Acres"), Robert Duval, Henry Silva ("Manchurian Candidate"), Patrick O'Neal, Tim O'Rourke ("Buck Rogers"), Micheal Ansara ("Broken Arrow"), Micheal Constantine, Dabney Coleman ("War Games" and "9 to 5"), Russell Johnson ("Gilligan's Island"), Howard DaSilva, Ivan Dixon ("Hogan's Heros"), Robert Webber ("12 Angry Men"), Don Gordon, Peter Duel ("Alias Smith & Jones"), Vera Miles, Gloria Grahame, James Shigata ("Flower Drum Song" and "Die Hard"), George MacReady ("30 Days In May"), Martin Landau, Warren Oates, Sally Kellerman ("MASH"), Sam Wanamaker, Chita Rivera, Ralph Meeker ("St Valentines Day Massacre"), Edward Mulhare ("Knight Rider"), Bruce Dern, Shirley Knight, Jeff Corey, Ed Asner ("Mary Tyler Moore Show"), Cedric Hardwicke, Barbara Rush, Joyce Van Patton and Donald Pleasence (Blofeld in the James Bond movies and also "Halloween").



Naturally when you have an iconic show like "Twilight Zone" there will always be those who will insist that it's "over rated" and offer up some alternative for "best ever". For many "Outer Limits" has filled that role with none other than Stephen King saying that "Outer Limits" is better written, with better character development.
Personally I think this is a meaningless statement. First of all it's not even true. While some characters in "Outer Limits" do indeed evolve and learn from their experiences, others learn nothing, as is equally true of "Twilight Zone". More importantly this neglects the fact that "Outer Limits" was an hour long compared to "Twilight Zone's" half hour (except for season four) so it's not a fair comparison. Sometimes this hour long format can be a drawback as well. Just as some "Twilight Zone" episodes can feel a little rushed some "Outer Limits" episodes can feel a little padded out and draggy. At any rate there are some inherent weaknesses in "Outer Limits". Billed as a sci-fi show means that "Outer Limits" shows tend to be rather similar, virtually every episode is based on the same few themes; either robots, aliens, space travel or the occasional time traveler. There are few if any exceptions, and the theme is set pretty quickly so while the stories have suspense, there is no real mystery involved, and few of the quirky twist endings that are the trademark of "Twilight Zone". This contrasts with the unpredictable nature of "Twilight Zone" where the audience never knows quite what to expect at the start. Some "Twilight Zone" episodes were dark and moody, while others are eerie and strange and others are light comedies. Like much adult sci-fi "Outer Limits" also takes itself very seriously and each episode has a rather cool and somber tone, sometimes even preachy. It's true that some "Twilight Zone" episodes can also be overtly preachy but this is still within the overall much greater variety of the "Zone" as a whole. "Outer Limits" also shows less variety in it's settings with virtually all stories set in contemporary America or a vague future. By contrast "Twilight Zone" stories can range from modern times to the Victorian Era to the old west to World War Two to outer space to an alternate future. Stylistically "Outer Limits" also lacks the film noirish directorial touches that some "Twilight Zone" with most episodes naturalistic preferring brightly lit scenes and few of the odd camera angles and expressionist sets "Twilight Zone" sometimes used. The theme song also isn't nearly as cool. (Although the Ventures would later do an eerie version). Having said all that there is no doubt that "Outer Limits" was an excellent show with consistently high quality literate scripts and solid acting. The special effect aliens may now look a little cheesy but some still have a certain presence.



"Outer Limits" was cancelled in the same year as "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" as networks decided audience tastes were changing. However the show has kept it's allure occasionally being rerun and with all it's episodes available on DVD. Only the show's one hour length kept it from being rerun as often as "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" even though most of the episodes now appear to be in public domain. As with "Twilight Zone" there was an "Outer Limits" remake series in the 1990's.

"THE OUTER LIMITS";


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"ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS"



The most successful of all anthologies, at least in terms of longevity, was this show which ran longer than "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" combined. This anthology ran from 1955 to 1964 on CBS and has been available on reruns ever since. This is more due to the marquee value of the Hitchcock name rather than the excellence of the show itself which is often erratic. Alfred Hitchcock himself had little day-to-day involvement with the show, which was instead produced by Joan Harrison, one of his former assistants. He instead acted as a droll host deadpanning his way through dry comedic set-ups and codas which sometimes had little connection to the actual story. The focus of the stories was limited to crime stories with a twist ending. There was rarely, if ever, any supernatural or sci-fi element so the stories lack the unpredictable quality of "Twilight Zone" or the otherworldly quality of "Outer Limits", "Tales Of Tomorrow" or "Lights Out". The tone is rather light compared to the other shows with the focus on clever twist endings, sometimes humorous ones. The quality of the shows is maddeningly inconsistent. Some shows are quite clever and briskly done, but others are sloppy and end abruptly as if they were rushed through to the screen, something the perfectionist Rod Serling would never have allowed. Another occasional annoyance is the habit of having Hichcock close off a story by delivering a closing comment that undercuts the story you just watched by explaining that the killers actually got caught after all, usually without explanation.

The stories value cleverness rather than the mood or depth of other such shows but they are still usually enjoyable and efficiently done. The best episodes faithfully show the Hitchcock influence with sly twist endings and a dry detached wit stripped of any of the morality of "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits". In Hitchcock's world the bad guys often get away with murder and nobody ever seems to particularly care about the victim. The direction is competent but rarely showing the moody noir influences sometimes shown in "Twilight Zone" with shows having a ratio of inside to outside sets similar to "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits". Like "Twilight Zone" (and unlike "Outer Limits" or "Tales Of Tomorrow") the show showed a willingness to set episodes in other times from the Victorian to contemporary eras. The show shared many of the same actors used by the other shows mentioned here, although they usually did not get the same literate dialogue, including;
Darren McGavin, Diana Dors, Carolyn Jones ("Adams Family"), George MacReady, Brandon DeWilde ("Shane"), John Forsythe ("Dynasty"), Walter Mathau, Robert Vaughan ("Man From Uncle"), Barbara Bel Geddes, Dick York ("Bewitched"), Claude Rains ("The Invisible Man"), Laurence Harvey ("Manchurian Candidate"), Alan Napier ("Batman"), Tom Ewell, Sebastian Cabot, Micheal Ansara, Jo Van Fleet, Everett Sloane, Rip Torn, Claire Trevor, Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre (both in the same episode), Werner Kelmperer and John Banner (both later in "Hogan's Heros" and both in the same episode).

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was cancelled in the same season as "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits" but it has survived in reruns. Like "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits" the show was remade in the 1980's with new episodes that managed to reuse the old Hitchcock intros and codas (now colourized) on new stories some of which were rewrites of original stories. Harrison had a try with another mystery anthology called "Journey to The Unknown" in 1968 but it lasted less than a season and was in colour and outside the scope of our survey.

"ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS";


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"TALES OF TOMORROW";



"Tales Of Tomorrow" (1950 - 1952) was the first explicitly sci-fi anthology series often seen as the precursor to both "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits". As was common with most TV shows of the early "Golden Years" it was made quickly and it looks it. Everything was shot on an indoor sound stage which often looks dark and cramped. They use obvious stage sets, some quite flimsy, and in the first year some of the painted backdrops actually have windows and bookcases that are clearly painted on. The reliance on indoor sets means that there is very little actual action seen. Any fights, chases, crashes etc happen off scene to be referred to or heard rather than seen. After season one this deficiency is made up by using stock footage, some quite old. All of this was normal in that era and TV viewers of the time would not have found this strange. The pace was a little slow but directors sometimes adapted to their limitations by using some film noir techniques with shadows and lighting. All this means that episodes can be a little slow and talky by today's standards but they do have a dark mood and atmosphere.

While the sets may have been crude the scripts were quite good. While most are of the sci-fi variety featuring aliens and robots similar to the later "Outer Limits" others had twist endings closer to "Twilight Zone" and there are a few which fall into a more fantasy category including at least one story; "What You Need" which later turned up as a "Twilight Zone" episode a decade later, virtually unchanged. There were also some adaptations of older classics by HG Wells and Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein". The tone of "Tales Of Tomorrow" was often dark and moody with some of the stories ending badly for all involved, unlike the later "Outer Limits" where the good guys usually won or the conflict was resolved. Most, if not all episodes were set in either in contemporary America or in some vague not-too-distant future.

"Tales Of Tomorrow" was one of the first shows to be able to attract some notable actors including;
Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney jr, Lee J. Cobb, Sylvia Sidney, Darren McGavin ("Kolchak, The Night Stalker"), Leslie Neilson, Brian Keith, Sam Jaffe, Eva Gabor, James Doohan, Phillip Pine (Star Trek), John Newland ("One Step Beyond"), Burgess Merideth, Joan Blondell, Victor Jory, Veronica Lake, Gene Lockhart, Everett Stone, Mercedes McCambridge ("All The King's Men"), Jackie Cooper, Jack Warden, Thomas Mitchell ("It's A Wonderful Life"), Rod Steiger and James Dean (both in the same episode no less) and a young Paul Newman and future wife Joanne Woodward (but not in the same episode).

Due to it's relatively low budgets and comparably crude production standards "Tales Of Tomorrow" hasn't been seen much on TV as reruns even though the episodes have been in the public domain for years. They are available on DVD and this ground breaking show has gotten some of the attention it deserves. Note that the show's credits were designed by Arthur Rankin, an animator who would later become one of the founders of Rankin-Bass Studios, producers of the classic Christmas toons "Frosty The Snowman" and "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" although the bare-bones graphics used here give no hint of this.

"TALES OF TOMORROW";


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"LIGHTS OUT";



"Lights Out" was the first important mystery/fantasy anthology running from 1949 to 1952. "Lights Out" actually started out as a long running radio show produced and largely written by Arch Oboler, a Rod Serling type figure who set the standard template for later anthologies; bizarre mystery and supernatural short stories that focused on mood and twist endings rather than action. The radio show also became known for having a deep voiced host introducing each show with the catchphrase; "It is later than you think!", slowly said in a loud droning voice accompanied by the sound of a loud bell tolling. The TV show was a success and moved to television after Oboler's death. The opening was changed to an eerie droning organ and stuttering piano keys as the host; the bald, pop-eyed, ghoulish Frank Gallup greeted you with a deep voiced, leering "Helloooo" before introducing tonight's episode. He would also close off the episode with a droll comment.

As with "Tales From Tomorrow", "Lights Out" was a low budget affair done on a sound stage with cheap sets. Some early shows seem to have very little set design at all, instead relying on darkened sets and harsh lighting to set a mood. Again as in "Tales From Tomorrow" there was no actual action on "Lights Out" with any such activity being referred to or heard off-stage. The stories were rather talky betraying their origins in radio drama. The focus in "Lights Out" was on the supernatural with twist endings rather than sci-fi fables. Another holdover from radio was the music, a somewhat cheesy melodramatic organ and cascading harp trills that was also common in soap operas of the era. Like most shows of that era the shows were essentially shot live and the camera work was pretty static although they occasionally experimented with a few expressionistic camera tricks and moody lighting. The tone in "Lights Out" was rather moody and somber, an atmosphere somewhat encouraged by the claustrophobic effect of the darkened, cramped sets. The endings were often downbeat. One episode, "The Angry Birds" may have influenced Hitchcock's later movie "The Birds". Another episode was based on a Sir Walter Scott story and set in Georgian Scotland allowing for the most preposterous Scottish accents this side of Groundskeeper Willie. Most stories were set in contemporary America however.

Early TV shows of the first era often had trouble attracting stars. In an example of myopic fear the Hollywood studios regarded TV as the enemy and banned it's stars from appearing on TV at all for the first few years, not even to promote their movies. With no star system of their own yet TV networks instead had to rely on actors from radio (both NBC and CBS also owned radio networks) and theatre. However a few notables did appear, some not yet famous, including;
EG Marshall, Lee J Cobb, Joseph Sweeney (all later in "12 Angry Men"), John Carradine, Beatrice Straight, Leslie Neilson, John Forsythe ("Dynasty"), John Newland ("One Step Beyond"), Arlene Francis ("Honey West"), J Pat O'Malley, Billie Burke, Eddie Albert, Raymond Massey, Yvonne DeCarlo ("The Munsters"), Jonathan Harris ("Lost In Space"), Robert Stack ("The Untouchables"), Robert Culp ("I Spy") and Henry Hull ("Werewolf Of London").
Producer Herbert B Swope jr was the son of Pulitzer Prize winning writer Herbert Swope, an editor of the "New Yourk Wold" and member of the Alqonquin Table along with the likes of F Scott Fitzgerald, Dorthy Parker and Robert Benchley.

In spite of it's importance "Lights Out" has been largely overlooked. With it's low budget look, slow pace, cheesy music, often static film work and stage-bound aura the show already looked hopelessly archaic by the late fifties (only a few years later) and it has never been in demand in reruns or on DVD although it's now in public domain and enough episodes are available to fill out a season.

"LIGHTS OUT";


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"ONE STEP BEYOND";


This series is not as well remembered but it actually ran from 1959 to 1961 and preceded "Twilight Zone" (by several months) and "Outer Limits". "One Step Beyond" (sometimes also known as "Alcoa Presents") was different from other anthologies in that it claimed to based on fact rather than a format for sci-fi or fantasy. All the stories were reportedly based on actual experiences with the supernatural. This meant that like "Outer Limits" the stories fell into predicable categories; ghosts, past lives, telekinesis, ESP, premonitions and other psychic phenomena. All presented in a sober straight-forward manner with no attempts at humour or moral message. Aside from the occasional UFO there are no robots, aliens, time travelers, toys come to life or crime stories. Because the theme of the series was the claim that all the stories were factual some of the stories were based on previously known tales such as premonitions from Abraham Lincoln and George Washington or the Titanic sinking.

The direction was similarly straight forward, lacking in the Film Noirish or Expressionistic flourishes the other shows often had. They were also lacking in memorably flashy scenes or clever dialogue. "One Step Beyond" was also shot on a more limited budget than "Twilight Zone", "Outer Limits" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and this shows in the reliance on indoor sets and fairly static camera work and the use of stock outdoor footage. Accordingly "One Step Beyond" did not attract any notable writers or directors although it did attract some some good (albeit some not yet famous) actors including;
Christopher Lee, Warren Beatty, Donald Pleasence, Charles Bronson, William Shatner, Patrick McNee, Joan Fontaine, Cloris Leachman ("Mary Tyler Moore Show"), Robert Blake ("Barretta"), Reginald Owen ("A Christmas Carol"), Yvette Mimieux ("The Time Machine"), Andre Morell ("Hound Of The Baskervilles"), Elizabeth Montgomery ("Bewitched"), Mike Connors ("Mannix"), Suzanne Pleshette ("Bob Newhart Show"), Jack Lord ("Hawaii 5-0"), Robert Loggia ("Scarface" and "Big"), Louise Fletcher ("One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest"), Whit Bissell ("Time Tunnel"), Werner Klemperer ("Hogan's Heros" and "Judgement In Nuremburg"), Robert Lansing, John Daly, Joe Turkel ("The Shining"), Ed Platt ("Get Smart"), James Hong, Phillip Ahn, Ronald Howard ("Sherlock Holmes"), Veronica Cartwright ("Daniel Boone", "The Birds"), Pernell Roberts ("Bonanza"), Patrick O'Neal, Norman Lloyd ("St Elsewhere"), Barbara Baxter, Irene Ryan ("Beverly Hillbillies"), Albert Salmi, Robert Webber and Ed Binns (both in "12 Angry Men").

Like "Twilight Zone", "Lights Out" and "Alfred Hichcock Presents", "One Step Beyond" had a host to introduce each episode. In this case it was John Newland, a journeyman television actor who already appeared in "Lights Out" and "Tales Of Tomorrow". Unlike the droll, mocking Serling, Gallup or Hitchcock, Newland was a rather bland, wispy actor with a pale, vacantly apprehensive face, a hesitant manner, an unblinking stare and a breathless voice who introduced each story with serious and somber air as befits the show's "exploring the real supernatural" theme. Besides hosting Newland directed many episodes and also acted in a few.

Although "One Step Beyond" lacked the distinctive style of the other series mentioned here it was a solid and consistent show done cheaply and efficiently and since it had a corporate sponsor in Alcoa it was able to stay on the air and built up a large library of episodes which could be rerun. Most of these episodes are easily available on DVD keeping the show alive where other similar shows have been lost even though the show is rarely rerun. In 1978 the show was brought back in colour with Newland again hosting but it would last only a season. In the 1980's the British ska band Madness named a classic song after the show.

"ONE STEP BEYOND";


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"THRILLER";


The failure of "The Veil" (see below) did not discourage the idea of having Boris Karloff as host for an anthology show and "Thriller" was the next result. Done by Revue Studios for MCA in 1961 to 1962 this time there would be a sufficient budget to hire writers like Robert Bloch, directors like Arthur Hiller, Paul Henreid, Ida Lupino, Ray Milland and John Newland and composers Jerry Goldsmith and Morton Stevens. Karloff would introduce each episode and act in a few as well. The stories were usually supernatural with a dark ghoulish tone, similar to a Hammer Film done on a lower budget and in black and white. And with less skin, this being television of course. Stephen King has claimed the show as "The best of it's kind up to that point". I disagree. Completely lacking in subtlety, "Thriller" lacks entirely the cleverness, variety and literate dialogue of "Twilight Zone", "Outer Limits" or "Tales Of Tomorrow". It does have suspense but not their sense of wonder either. "Thriller" also does not have the slick and occasional noirish direction of "Twilight Zone" or even "Outer Limits". The Emmy Award nominated scores by Jerry Goldsmith did add a sense of menace to the proceedings and Karloff was a fine host with his usual droll charm. The spider-web opening credits were also a nice touch. The show also scored a Hugo Award nomination in 1962.

Actors who guest starred included;
John Newland (fresh from "One Step Beyond" in a episode he also directed), Leslie Neilson, Constance Ford, George Grizzard, Everett Sloane, Mary Astor, Rip Torn, Cloris Leachman, Robert Lansing, Mary Tyler Moore, Jack Carson, Werner Klemperer, William Shatner, James Gregory, Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Vaughn, Reginald Owen, John Ireland, Edward Platt, Lloyd Bochner, Brandon De Wilde. Virginia Gregg, Jeanette Nolan, Hazel Court, Natalie Schafer ("Gilligan's Island') and comedian Mort Sahl.

In spite of it's award nominations the show only lasted two seasons although it did spawn a comic book spin-off on Gold Key Comics which lasted into the 1980's. The Pretenders incorporated a title of one episode in the lyrics of the song "Back On The Chain Gang" in 1984. Unlike most of the other shows listed here "Thriller" is not in public domain (aside from one episode which somehow slipped out), however it is available on DVD.

"THRILLER";


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"THE VEIL";


"The Veil" occupies a strange position among mystery/fantasy anthologies. It is one of the better remembered and is readily available on DVD, in spite of the fact that it's original run was aborted and the show never actually made it to air.

"The Veil" was hosted by Boris Karlof who also appeared in each episode in different roles, either as a leading role, villain or supporting player. Like "One Step Beyond" the stories were purportedly based on true cases of paranormal activity, mostly concerning premonitions, esp, ghosts and the like. The stories are presented in a straight-forward way with little real action and occasional touches of light humour, usually caused by Karloff's typically off-hand performances. In various episodes Karloff could have roles ranging from a large or a minor and in a couple episodes his character is incidental and seems tacked on. The supporting actors are mostly obscure but solid enough. Stories are set in various times from contemporary to Victorian times and range in location from America to Europe to India. Using facilities at Hal Roach Studios the show looks quite professional with detailed sets and costumes and unlike many other shows of the era the quality of existing prints is quite good. Many outdoor scenes appear to make good use of stock footage such as speeding police cars, planes in flight or location shots.

The show was done by an independent production company for syndication rather than by a network. Unfortunately after a season's worth of episodes had been filmed the company ran out of money and went out of business and the series was never picked up. Karlof always complained that he had never been paid. Although the show never aired the episodes went into storage somewhere to be resurrected years later in the 1980's (after they had gone into public domain) to be aired on late night cable TV and home video where they've been available ever since. The survival of this otherwise obscure show is itself a twist of fate since many other shows it it's time have been long lost. That the show had Boris Karloff's name attached probably explains why it wasn't simply tossed away decades earlier, and since it had lapsed into public domain made it easy to program for early cable TV which had little programming of it's own as yet. From the episodes left we can say that while it would probably never made it into the status of the Big Three it would have been a solid show.

Given it's short (or non-existent) life "The Veil" did not get to attract many notable guest stars however the show did manage to score a couple of up-and-comers in George Hamilton and the ubiquitous Patrick McNee, along with a few veterans; Eve Brent ("Tarzan"), Ron Hagerty ("Sky King"), Morris Ankrum ("Perry Mason") and Claudia Bryar, who would later turn up in "Psycho 2".

"THE VEIL";


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"13 DEMON STREET";


Like "The Veil" this was another show which has survived in spite of not actually making it to air, at least not in America. Like "The Veil" the series was filmed in 1960 by an independent production company formed by Hollywood veteran Curt Siodmak who had credits ranging from writing "The Wolfman" to directing B-Movies like "Love Slaves Of The Amazon". In a bid to cut costs he made a deal to shoot the series in Sweden using their facilities, crews and some actors. After a series of episodes were made (ironically exactly thirteen of them) Siodmak tried to find an American buyer without success and then gave up filming more. The shows may have aired in Sweden at some point however as existing episodes have Swedish subtitles.

This anthology was hosted by Lon Chaney jr and based around the theme that Chaney was an undead spirit cursed to search for someone who had committed a crime worse than his, which of course were never explained. The episodes are about the crimes Chaney's nameless narrator witnesses. This makes the stories closer to the quirky crime stories of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" than the supernatural oddities of "Twilight Zone", "Lights Out", "One Step Beyond" and "The Veil", or the sci-fi of "Outer Limits" and "Tales Of Tomorrow", in spite of the beyond-the-grave intros. Although one episode; "The Black Hand" is an obvious rip-off of the classic German silent horror classic "The Hands Of Orlock" in which a killer's hands are amputated and grafted on to another man's hand, only to take him over and turn him into a killer. It's probably the best episode done.

Chaney was a rather morose and wooden actor with a heavy face, bleary eyes and raspy voice made worse by his heavy drinking and smoking. He owed his career less to his own charms and more to his famous name, after his father the great Lon Chaney sr, silent screen star of horror classics "Phantom Of The Opera" and "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" which led to the lucky break of being cast in his own horror classic in "The Wolfman" followed by a bunch of B-movies and serials. Like Karlof and Lugosi he was able to parley this into a long career with numerous film and TV credits. However Chaney lacked the presence or talent of Boris Karlof nor did he have the eccentric charisma of Lugosi. As a host he also lacked the droll wit of Hitchcock or the cool, wry charm of Rod Serling. In his intros he looks disheveled, tired and hungover, although he always did by this point in his career. Unlike Karloff in "The Veil" Chaney does not actually act in the episodes however.

Although Siodmack had shown himself to be a good writer as a director he was pedestrian with little of the sense of style of the best "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" episodes. The rather spartan sets also lack the lush sheen of "The Veil". The actors are unknowns, and judging by the names are presumably a mix of Americans, Brits and Swedes and although they are fluent in English some have noticeable accents. The show explains this by setting the stories in Europe so that's not really a problem. However the level of acting is often stiff and awkward giving the whole thing a rather amateurish low-budget look. It does however have an oddly sleazy b-movie feel so it's not hard to see why American TV turned it down. In fact it's hard to see how Siodmak thought he would be able to sell this to TV in the first place.

After failing to find an American buyer for the show Siodmak had some of the episodes edited together as an anthology movie under the title "Satan's Messenger" in 1963 and dumped into the drive-in movie circuit where the names of Lon Chaney and Curt Siodmak still had some pull. Both the TV series and movie versions are in public domain and show up on bargain DVD collections.

"13 DEMON STREET";


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"TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN";


"13 Demon Street" was actually Curt Siodmak's second attempt at a TV horror anthology, his first try was this show from 1958 which was done for the legendary Hammer Studios in Britain as a potential TV show in America or Britain. The idea was to do an anthology series based on stories from the traditional monster movies from the 1930's such as "Frankenstein", "Dracula", "The Wolfman", "The Mummy" etc. Thus "Tales Of Frankenstein" may have been a working title. As it happened nobody picked up the show and it never moved beyond the pilot episode. This episode recycles stock footage from Universal Studios films "Bride Of Dracula" (1931) and "The Inner Sanctum" which causes some problems when the sound doesn't synch up. But it's still a decent recreation of the 1930's monster movies from Universal Studios. As you expect from Hammer Studios it's nicely lush and Gothic, in a low budget kind of way. It's a little hard to see how long they could have continued on in this vein by recycling classic monster movies. The cast are mostly unknowns except for Richard Bull, an American TV and film character actor with a long career stretching from the 1950's to the 2000's and included roles in "Little House On The Prairie', "Voyage The Bottom Of The Sea" and "Mannix". This pilot somehow was saved to later be repackaged in DVD collections with "13 Demon Street" and "The Veil", sometimes incorrectly labeled as an episode of one of those shows. Conversely another DVD version is floating which claims to include a second episode about Jack The Ripper, but that story is actually an episode that was taken from "The Veil" after the fact.

"TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN";


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were a number of other anthologies from TV's B&W era with titles like; "Escape" (another former radio show), "Hands Of Mystery", "The Clock", "Out Of The Fog", "Volume One", "Mystery Theatre", "Science Fiction Theatre" and "Great Ghost Stories". Most of these shows are unavailable and probably long lost.

GOLDEN EARING ~ "TWILIGHT ZONE";

Adventures In Animation; George Harriman's "Krazy Kat"

George Harriman (1880 - 1944) is, along with Winsor McKay and Richard Outcault, one of the founding figures in cartooning and animation in the twentieth century. It was they who established the look and approach of all modern cartoons in the Edwardian Era. Previously the archetypal cartoonist was Thomas Nast with his carefully detailed drawings, densely packed with details, he was the apex of Victorian cartoonists. Starting in the 1890's a new style emerged, more open and flowing and less literal minded, led first by Richard Outcault whose newspaper strips "Gasoline Alley" (with it's "Yellow Kid" character) and "Buster Brown" established many of the conventions followed by most cartoon strips to this day; recurring characters, dialogue bubbles and muti-pannelled strips that told a story. He favoured simpler backgrounds and a cleaner, less detailed look. Outcault's wildly popular strips were followed by Winsor McCay's refinements in such classic strips as "Litle Nemo", "Dream Of A Rarebit Fiend", "Little Sammy Sneeze" and "A Pilgrim's Progress". McCay, a better and more imaginative illustrator than Outcault, introduced a cleaner, more flowing style that looks strikingly modern and more in tune with contemporary art movements such as Art Nouveau, Futurism, Expressionism and Cubism. George Harriman would complete the evolution of the modern comic strip. (note; I've already written extensively about Winsor McCay here).

Winsor McCay, for all his brilliance and imagination, was still literal in his visual style, although not in his themes. His human characters still look exactly like human characters, only slightly exaggerated. His animal characters look and act like animals, they do not (usually) talk or wear clothes like people. By contrast in "Krazy Kat" George Harriman's characters were animals who walked upright, talked, wore clothes and acted like humans. They also did not look like literal illustrations of animals, as McCay would have done, but rather as crudely stylized versions. They were symbols of human characters rather than literal representations. In fact there were no humans at all in "Krazy Kat". The background scenery in "Krazy Kat" was equally stylized, usually made up of flat featureless plains with an occasional oddly shaped tree, cactus or mesa in the distance and angular clouds in a starless night sky. Nast's backgrounds were full of meticulous and literal detail. Outcault's were less densely packed but still literal minded portrayal of contemporary scenes. McCay experimented with fantastical and bizarre backgrounds but they were always presented as the character's visiting a fantasy or dream world and readers would accept them as such. McCay's strips always started and ended with the characters in the "real world" before sending them to the fantasy world. Harriman's "Karzy Kat" however was a self contained world were everything was strange and talking animals ran free, there was no "normal world" with regular humans to return to.



Since the heyday of McCay and Harriman in the 1900's all cartoons and animation fall into one of two schools; either McCay or Harriman. McCay's influence is shown in all the superhero, horror and western comics from the 1930's to today, strips like "Doonesbury", "Bloom County", "Blondie", "Denis The Menace", "Henry", "Andy Capp", "Scooby Doo", "Dick Tracy", the epic animated features from Walt Disney, the Fleischer Brothers classic "Superman" toons and the (much) lower budget toons of the 1960's television such as "Spider Man", "Rocket Robin Hood", "Captain America", "Thor" (all from the same Krantz Studios) and "Space Angel", "Captain Fathom", "Clutch Cargo" (all from Cambria Studios) and modern toons like "Beetlejuice", "Inspector Gadget" (both from Nelvana) and parodies like "Space Angel" ending ultimately with Anime. The Harriman influence is shown in the early Disney Mickey Mouse toons, the Warner Bros toons of Chuck Jones, Friz Freling and Tex Avery (especially "The Roadrunner" and "The Pink Panther"), Ub Iwerks "Flip The Frog", the Fleischer Bros "Betty Boop" and "Popeye" toons, "Peanuts", "Broom Hilda", "B.C.", "The Wizard Of Id", "Felix The Cat", "Fritz The Cat" and modern abstract and absurdest toons such as "South Park", "Ren & Stimpy" and "Sponge Bob Square Pants". "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" manage to combine both schools.

Unlike Winsor McCay, whose early work already showed an individual style, George Harriman did not start out as an especially noteworthy artist, let alone a groundbreaker. Born in 1880 in New Orleans, Harriman's background has always been something of a mystery. Possibly even to him. It is believed that he was of Creole background. Creoles had a different tradition from Southern blacks; they had never been slaves, they were educated, middle class bilingual and Catholic. However in the Jim Crow south Creoles were officially considered black and as such there was little opportunity for them to advance. Accordingly his parents immigrated to Los Angeles when he was about ten years old. In later years Harriman (who had a dark complexion and dark curly hair) would tell people his background was a mixture of Spanish, Cuban, Greek and Turkish although it's firmly established his family had been in New Orleans for many years. He did not have any particular art training but was talented enough to land a job at seventeen at the Los Angeles Herald where he did occasional advertising and political and sports cartoons. At this point his style was quite conservative in the style of established Victorian cartoonists such as Thomas Nast, Joseph Keppler and Fredrick Burr Opper. In 1900 he hopped a freight train to New York where he eventually landed a job with humour magazine "Judge" before being picked up by the Pulitzer chain. Harriman had a regular job as a sports cartoonist (in the days before photographs could be easily reproduced sports sections relied on cartoonists) as well as doing a series of comic strips.



These strips started with "Musical Mose" in 1902. Mose was a character from blackface minstrel shows, a comic hustler who spoke in an exaggerated dialect. By any modern standard these strips are blatantly racist even taking in to consideration Harriman's own mixed race background, although this type of humour was quite common at the time. He also did a number of one-off strips on various subjects. By this time his style had advanced to the more free flowing and less cluttered style of Richard Outcault, then the most popular cartoonist of the day.

Between 1903 and 1910 Harriman developed a series of often short lived strips with titles like "Professor Otto & His Auto", "Acrobatic Archie" (about a mischievous child), "Two Jolly Jackies" (about two sailors), "Lariat Pete" (a cowboy), "Major Ozone", "Home Sweet Home", "Baron Mooch", "Mr Proones The Plumber" and a number of others. Some of these strips were popular enough and at this point his style had again evolved to resemble contemporaries strips like Bud Fisher's "Mutt & Jeff", "Bringing Up Father", and "The Katzenjammer Kids". By this time Harriman had shown himself skilled in working within the established styles of his contemporaries but he had yet to develop a style of his own.

"Acrobatic Archie"


In 1909 Harriman developed his first all-animal strips with "Alexander The Cat", "Daniel & Patsy", "Polly & Her Pals" and "Gooseberry Sprig". In 1910 Harriman (who had moved back to Los Angeles in 1906) returned to New York and started another strip,"The Dingbats", about a wacky family. This was not a particularly noteworthy strip and would have no doubt been a short lived as the rest but that year Harriman stumbled on to his iconic characters. In one "Dingbats" strip he found some empty space at the bottom of the panels so he added in a separate strip about a cat and a mouse. The strip reversed the dynamic between cat and mouse where instead of having the cat chase the mouse, the cat was instead shown as a lazy innocent tormented by a bullying mouse. Soon the cat and mouse became popular enough to merit their own strip and by 1912 they had they had a stand-alone strip called "Krazy Kat".



The story-lines of "Krazy Kat" were simple; Krazy was a sweet, innocent Kat who was blindly in love with Ignatz, a bad tempered mouse. Ignatz however despised Krazy and responded to Krazy's flirtations by tossing bricks at Krazy's head. This provoked another character (brought in from the earlier "Gooseberry Sprig" strip) called Offisa Pup, a squat bulldogish type wearing a policeman's uniform to intervene. Offisa Pup had a crush on Krazy (which the rather clueless Krazy never seemed to notice) and would try to protect Krazy by throwing Ignatz in jail, only to have Krazy rescue him. There were also a number of secondary characters who dropped in from time to time to cause trouble or comment on the bizarre love triangle. The sexuality of Krazy caused much debate with Harriman himself at first unsure, referring to the character as both he or she at various times. Krazy is wearing a ribbon with a bow around his/her neck but at other times the bow appears to be a men's wing collar instead. Eventually Harriman decided that Krazy was an "asexual sprite". The characters all spoke in a difficult lingo that combined street slang, black dialect from minstrel shows, Yiddish and other puns and deliberate misspellings from vaudeville "ethnic" routines that were not always easy to dis-cipher but which fascinated many poets, writers and musicians. This may have reflected Harriman's New Orleans origins and a knowledge of minstrelsy and ragtime slang. These prose flights alone might have been enough to earn Harriman a footnote as an influence with later Beatnick figures like Slim Gaillard and Lord Buckley, with Jack Keruac himself citing Krazy Kat as a favorite.

One major difference between McCay and Harriman is that while McCay was clearly a brilliant and imaginative illustrator he was no writer. His dialogue was clunky, wordy and lacking in meter. Consisting of many repetitive run-on sentences, his dialogue often had to be crammed into the word bubbles, sometimes even running out of room. This suggested that McCay worked out dialogue only after the artwork, as an afterthought. Similarly McCay's characters, however well drawn, were two dimensional, lacking any real personality and never taking any initiative in their stories. They were always mere observers; McCay would send them into some bizarre fantasy or dream world, lovingly created, which they would observe and comment on until he brought them back. End of story. The only exception to this rule was the character of Flip, an unshaven, cigar chomping, misanthropic clown from Little Nemo. The rest of McCay's characters, from Sammy Sneeze to The Pilgrim to Little Nemo were blank slates. McCay's focus was on his art work. In "Krazy Kat" however Harriman however created a stable of characters who had distinct (if limited) personalities.



More groundbreaking in "Krazy Kat" was the strip's visual style. In earlier strips the animal characters were drawn in a fairly linear and detailed style. However Harriman developed a style that was more stylized and minimalistic consisting of blocky shapes and simple colours while still remaining recognizable as the animals they represented. His characters while simple also were able to show facial expressions and emotions. This style was radically different than the conventional styles but would become highly influential on future cartoonists like Walt Disney whose early "Mickey Mouse" strips and toons greatly resemble "Krazy Kat".

Besides the characters, the backgrounds were equally groundbreaking. Previous strips used backgrounds that had conventional background scenery. Winsor McCay had broken that mold with some of his dream-like fantasy backdrops but Harriman's stylized backdrops were different in their stark simplicity and beauty. Heavily influenced by the desolate plains of the Southwest in Arizona and New Mexico (where he would later move) with their flat featureless landscapes dotted with oddly shaped mesa rock formations and lonely cacti and sagebrush. Harriman's backgrounds offered an other-worldly dreamscape populated by strange characters. Once "Krazy Kat" became popular enough to score a prized spot in the colourized weekend editions his strips became even more dreamlike as Harriman would colour the starless skys jet black, orange or yellow with occasional smudgy clouds or a misshapen moon. The influence of these expressionistic backgrounds can be especially seen in those of the "Roadrunner", "Pink Panther" and "Rocket Robin Hood" cartoons and comic strips like "Broom Hilda" and "B.C." and the works of Dr Suess and Ralph Bakshi.



As with Winsor McCay, the question of where George Harriman took his influences from is an interesting one. The Expressionist and Cubist movements were contemporary but it's unknown if Harriman, with little advanced art training, had any exposure to these avant garde European schools at this time. Many have noted the resemblance of Harriman's backgrounds with the paintings of Salvador Dali, but Dali was still a child at this point. Harriman seems to have worked out his own style independent of higher art schools although his background showed he was well aware of the work of other cartoonists, including no doubt McCay. Harriman did not have the draftsmanship skills of McCay or his meticulous attention to detail but his ability to work fast on multiple projects and the rather improvised nature of the early "Krazy Kat" strips may have led him to work out a simple, uncluttered response to McCay's dream world that he then quickly expanded on. The addition of colour added to his distinctive style.



The weird and unique strip became a success for Harriman, giving him at last a long-run strip. Although the strip was too weird and difficult to become hugely popular with the general public it did gain a loyal and influential following amongst artists and intellectuals. The combination of the strip's outlandish visual style, odd verse-like dialect and charming if repetitive love triangle earned the strip praise from the likes of H.L. Menken, e.e. cummings, Will Rogers, Gilbert Seldens, F.Scott Fitzgerald, Walter Lippman, Robert Benchley, Ezra Pound, Lord Buckley, E.B.White, Frank Capra and Harold Lloyd. President Woodrow Wilson was such a devoted fan that he would interrupt cabinet meetings to read the latest strip which he also had sent to him while he was in Europe in 1919. In 1921 composer John Alden Carpenter even wrote a "Krazy Kat" ballet which was actually performed. Earlier the then popular Ragtime banjoist Fred Van Epps recorded a soundtrack to a Krazy Kat cartoon (more on the Krazy Kat toons below). The most important fan (from Harriman's point of view) was publisher William Randolph Hearst who gave Harriman a lifetime contract for the strip to be carried on all papers which he honored for over twenty years until Harriman's death.

FRED VAN EPPS ~ "KRAZY KAT GOES A WOOING";


ANIMATED ADAPTATIONS;


By 1909 Winsor McCay had already done pioneering work to make animation practical. There had been crude experiments in animation for years with only limited results. It was McCay who developed the basic techniques that are still essentially used today, at least until computer animation was invented. McCay's cartoons were fluid and lifelike to an amazing degree and led to the birth of a new medium which he encouraged as he happily shared his new techniques rather than seek a copyright and issue lawsuits as Edison surely would have. Accordingly in 1916 the first "Krazy Kat" cartoons were made by Hearst's Vitagraph News Pictorials, a studio that normally made newsreels. They had limited involvement from Harriman himself and were actually animated by either Frank Moser or Leon Searle. Moser was a trained artist originally from Kansas who had worked as a newspaper cartoonist in Des Moines and New York. Searle was another newspaper cartoonist who worked for Pulitzer in New York and Philadelphia. Neither had any animation experience, although at that point neither did anybody else.

"KRAZY KAT GOES A WOOING" (1916);


These cartoons kept the basic look and characters from the original strip along with the love triangle however simplified to fit in with their short (approx 3 minute) length. The characters looked exactly as they had in print. However the toons lacked the distinctive backgrounds of the strips, especially the colour strips. The toons also lacked much of Harriman's distinctive dialect verse. The stories relied mostly on slapstick which was typical of comedy shorts of the time although they did try to maintain some of the basic feel of the original strip. However the most glaring shortcoming of these strips is the animation itself. Frank Moser simply did not have the McCay's talent as an illustrator or an animator. McCay's animation is fluid and lifelike while Moser's is crude and jumpy. To be fair McCay's techniques were very new and Moser had little time to learn them, these toons were also probably done rather quickly, especially compared to McCay's exacting work. With his flowing animation and legendary attention to detail Winsor McCay took over a year to do his masterpiece "The Sinking Of The Lusitania" while Moser did the entire "Krazy Kat" series in less time. The time and work McCay spent on his toons in fact led directly to Hearst (who also employed McCay) to eventually ban McCay from further animation work as Hearst felt it was distracting him from his newspaper work, much to McCay's annoyance. While the Moser strips are clearly inferior to McCay's work it must be said that their simple visual style was more influential than McCay's more complex and difficult works at least in appearance if not animation technique. The "Felix The Cat" cartoons which appeared in 1919 produced by Pat Sullivan looked exactly like "Krazy Kat". Warner Brothers would follow with their own similar series,"Bosco" in 1927. When Walt Disney began the first Mickey Mouse cartoons a decade later the "Krazy Kat" resemblance was obvious. Frank Moser would go on to an influencial career of his own as one of the founders of the successful Terrytoons Studios in 1929 with characters like Heckle & Jeckle and Mighty Mouse. He also became a respected painter. Moser died well into the TV era in 1964. Leon Searle was less fortunate, he made over a dozen "Krazy Kat" toons before dying suddenly in 1919 aged only 38.

"KRAZY KAT; BUGOLIGIST";


In 1925 Bill Nolan, a respected animator who had worked on "Felix" took over for a new series of "Krazy Kat" toons. Unlike Moser's toons which kept true to Harriman's originals, Nolan's toons in fact resembled "Felix" both in appearance as well as in discarding the basic plot-lines and dialect in favour of a pure slapstick approach. They also dispensed with Harriman's iconic backgrounds in favour of more conventional settings. These toons were successful enough to continue (under different animators) until 1940. Some of these toons were quite imaginative visually and even surrealistic but did not have Harriman's distinctive poetic doggerel. Harriman had nothing to do with these toons and probably did not approve although he likely did appreciate the royalty cheques. Nolan would go on to work with Walter Lanz on the "Oswald The Rabbit" series. He died in 1954.

"KRAZY KAT AT THE CIRCUS";


George Harriman died in 1944 and his remaining finished strips were published for a few more weeks before the strip was discontinued. While it was not uncommon to continue strips after a cartoonists death, Hearst felt that Harriman's unique style was irreplaceable, although it's also worth recalling that the strips were not really money makers anyway. Still their influence was acknowledged. The now famous Walt Disney wrote Harriman's surviving daughter a letter in which he praised George Harriman as one of the founders of modern cartooning and animation and a personal influence. (he also did the same with Winsor McCay's son)

KRAZY KAT; "BARS & STRIPES";


In 1962 King Features made a series of "Krazy Kat" toons for television. These toons made an attempt to return to the basic appearance of the Harriman originals. They were proceeded in the fifties by a comic book series put out by Dell Publications which had little to do with the original strip and was instead a basic mainstream animal strip which Felix had also become. These comics were popular enough to stay in print until the 1960's by which time they were taken over by Gold Key Comics. These fifties and sixties versions helped to introduce "Krazy Kat" to the psychedelic generation and cartoonists like Ralph Bakshi ("Fritz The Cat"), R. Crumb and Matt Groening who's "Simpsons" would have the ultimate "Krazy Kat" parody in it's "Itchy & Scratchy" characters. While "Itchy & Scratchy" are often seen as taking the likes of "Tom & Jerry" and the likes, which they are, they also incorporate elements of the dysfunctional relationship relationship between Krazy and Ignatz. No matter how many times Itchy the mouse (note the similar name) explodes, disembowels, decapitates, immolates, etc, etc Scratchy the Cat, Scratchy still loves Itchy and stands by his mouse. Some Kats never learn.

KRAZY KAT; "THE HOT-CHA MELODY";

Abstract German Dada Filmmakers Viking Eggeling & Walter Ruttmann

Viking Eggeling (1880-1925) had the shortest career and smallest output of any notable filmmaker. He produced only two short films only one of which survives and yet he was a founder of a new abstract way of looking at film as a work of pure art.



Born in Sweden in 1880, Viking (also known as Victor) became orphaned at age sixteen and decided study art, moving first to Milan then to Paris before moving to Germany. He became acquainted with Amedeo Modigliani, Hans Arp and Leopold Sauvage and aligned himself with Cubism and Futurism before turning to more abstract forms like Malevich and Mondrian. Instead of painting he takes to using line drawings which can be converted to lithographs and reproduced. He began collecting his drawings of interconnected shapes and spirals onto long scrolls which could be unfurled calling them "picture rolls". Originally he was merely trying to find an efficient way to store and transport his work but gradually he started to see how these rolls could be used to study how these different shapes could relate to each other as in movement. In retrospect his "picture rolls" were similar to early crude experiments in the new medium of animation, although he may not have been aware of this at that time. Like other abstract artists such as Malevich, Mondrian and Kandinsky, his drawings had no apparent structure or perspective and were instead interconnected designs, shapes and spirals which related only to each other in a clean design resembling an mechanized version of Art Nouveau design.

During and after World War One Eggeling, like many other left-wing and avant garde artists living in Germany, went to Switzerland and became part of the new Dada movement in which his friend Hans Arp was a leading figure. He joined groups like "The Cabaret Voltaire" and "Das Leben" which advocated for Dadaist and abstract art along with socialist and pacifist ideals. In 1919 he co-founded the group "Artistes Radicaux" with Dada theorist Tristan Tzara and Hans Richter, a German artist with similar ideas to his own. Eggeling and Richter would become close friends and collaborators for the rest of Eggeling's short life. That year the two left Switzerland and returned to Germany where they joined "The November Group", another important radical arts and politics group with many connections to Dada, Futurism, Expressionism, Abstract Art and the Bauhaus design school.

EGGELING BY MODIGLIANI;


Studying his picture rolls he began to hit upon the idea of transferring them to film stock, partly to make them easier to store and unroll. Inevitably he discovered, as early animators had, that when unrolled quickly they would cause the abstract shapes to relate and contrast to previous frames to create the illusion of movement. If more carefully arranged in a systematic way he would achieve full fledged animation as shapes could appear to move in space relative to each other in a fluid way.

In 1920, working with Richter, he started work on his first film by laboriously copying shapes onto approximately 5000 separate frames of film, he titled the piece "Horizontal-Vertikal-Masse". By 1921 Richter had moved onto his own similar experiments and his first film "Rhythmus 21" and Eggeling postponed work on the piece. It is unclear if Eggeling ever actually finished the film but it was never officially shown and has since been lost. Although the film was never formally shown enough members of The November Group saw the work in progress to comment on and be influenced by it. In 1923 Eggeling decided on a more practical way of animating by using geometric shapes cut out of sheets of black paper that can be moved for each frame. Richter has already been using this method on his film however while Richter is using simple geometric shapes Eggeling designs more complex and intricate designs similar to those of his previous lithographic work. I've written an extensive article on Hans Richter here.



Besides being easier to animate the use of cutout paper shapes coincidentally mirrors similar experiments being used by Henri Matise who has had to abandon painting due to his worsening eyesight and advanced age and is using paper shapes glued to canvas backings although not in any sort of systematic way. Whether or not Eggeling and Richter were even aware of Matise's work (and vice versa) is unknown and may be purely unrelated.

He finished the film in 1924 and entitled it "Symphonie-Diagonal" and it was formally released in May 1925 at an exhibition by Dadist art collective The November Group to great acclaim and is considered to be the first piece of abstract film art. Due to the laborious shot-by-shot nature of the film method, while it took a year to finish the short film is a mere seven minutes long. Note that given the structureless nature of the film there is no way of knowing if the ending (such as it is) may have been truncated in the surviving print. The title explains his theory that moving forms can create a kind of "visual music" without reference to any sort of narrative or specific concrete image expected of film. Eggeling's film is more delicate and lyrical than Richter's somewhat more jarring films, although they basically agreed as to methods and intents. In this Eggeling differs somewhat from his Dadaist and Futurist friends who sought to shock and outrage or the Expressionists who looked to invoke deep repressed emotions.

"SYMPHONIE-DIAGONAL"(1925);


His work had already become influential to fellow minded filmmakers, and friends, like Hans Richter and Walter Ruttman as well as later work by Frenchmen Marcell Ducamp and Man Ray. Eggeling's concept of "visual music" will briefly pass on to other German filmmakers who will entitle their films similarly including Richter's "Rhythmus 21", "Rhythmus 23" and "Rhythmus 25", Walter Rutmann's equally abstract "Lichtspiel; Opus 1" (1926) and later films "World Melody" (1930) and "Wochenende". Ruttman would later take this concept away from the purely abstract with his brilliant 1927 "absolute" film documentary "Berlin; Symphony Of A Great City". FW Murnau had also acknowledged this theme with the full title of his iconic 1922 horror classic "Nosferatu; A Symphony Of Terror".

EGGELING BY JUNCO RUMANSK;


Viking Eggeling however, while supportive of such ventures, will not get to see them develop nor will he get to finish his previous film because a mere sixteen days later he died suddenly aged only 44.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walter Ruttman;

Like Viking Eggeling and Hans Richter, Walter Ruttman (1887-1941) started out as an artist before moving to film. His background was more practical than the theoretical training of Eggeling and Richter with Ruttmann studying architecture as well as painting and working as a commercial artist and illustrator. In spite of this his early abstract films would be less structured than those of either of his compatriots.



Again unlike Eggeling and Richter, Ruttman was not one early Dadaists or Cubists in Zurich, by the end of World War One however he had discovered abstract art and joined The November Group and inspired by the work of Eggeling and Richter he had had also discovered film as a medium. He accepted Eggeling's theories both about using film as a medium for abstract movable art as well as his idea of "visual music". He showed his first film, entitled "Lichtspiel; Opus 1" ("Light Speech; Opus 1") soon after Richter's debut in 1921.

"LICHTSPIEL: OPUS 1" (1921);


In spite of his technical training Ruttman chose slightly different methods than Eggeling and Richter. Instead of drawing or using solid shapes Ruttmann experimented with using flashes of light and shadows to play across the screen. He also played with colour instead of pure black and white. These methods meant that Ruttmann could not have the control over his moving images that Eggeling and Richter had so instead his films had a more improvised and fluid feel. This also means that his light forms would interact differently than solid shapes and lines. Not having definite borders the different flashes of colour and light would overlap and at times envelop each other.

"LICHTSPIEL: OPUS 2" (1923);


Ruttmann's method did have the benefit of being quicker and easier to use than the laborious frame by frame animation methods used by others and he was able to make several similar followups in the same vein.

"LICHTSPIEL: OPUS 3" (1924);


Having exhausted the possibilities of using flashes of light and shadow Ruttman began making less abstract films. In 1927 he collaborated with script writer Carl Mayer, who had written the scenarios for classic Expressionist films "The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari", "Genuine" and "The Last Laugh" and cameraman Karl Freund to make the classic full-length documentary "Berlin; Symphony Of A Great City". As this was not an abstract film I will not deal with it here but will save it for another article.

"LICHTSPIEL: OPUS 4" (1925);


While other Dadaists were anti-capitalists Ruttmann saw the possibilities in using film in advertisements and made a few early commercials using his flash colour animation methods to tell a more lineal story including "Das Wunder" an ad for a brand of liquor in which two arguing men drink a bottle then kiss and make up. Note; alcohol does NOT work this way in real life.

Another ad "Das Sieger" (1922) is for Excelsior-Reifen tires and features more recognizable animation. By this time he was working with Lotte Reineger, who's work this somewhat resembles.

"DAS WUNDER" & "DAS SIEGER" (1922);


"Spiel Der Wellen" is another short add, this time for a radio company, using Lotte Reineger's cut paper method. Note the culturally advanced notion that radio brings music from Africa to the happy listener in spite of the efforts of the conservative authorities (symbolized by a policeman), showing the Wiemar German artistic community's attitudes towards Jazz.

"SPIEL DER WELLEN" (1926);


"Rediscovered Paradise" uses a variety of his previous techniques of animation, shapes and colour swatches and stop action paper figures and what appears to be claymation to tell a biblical parable of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden before reuniting them using a dove, the Bird Of Peace.

"THE REDISCOVERED PARADISE" (1925);


Ruttmann had not abandoned his belief in "visual music" and the advent of sound films led to experimental films like "Melodie der Welt" ("Melody Of The World") in 1929, in a similar Cinema Verite genre as his earlier "Berlin, Symphony Of A Great City" he used a collage of images and sounds from various countries but no vocals to compare and contrast everyday life in various lands. The film was billed as Germany's first sound feature film.

"MELODIE DER WELT" (1929);


In 1930 he moved full circle from "visual music" with "Wochenende" ("Weekend"), a film composed of solely sound effect against a blank screen and no images at all and is considered one of the first extended sound colleges. This sound collage method would later be used by Avant Garde composers like Karlheinze Stockhausen and Steve Reich and 1980's Industrial groups like Cabaret Voltaire, The Residents, Nocturnal Emissions, Nurse With Wound and Zoviet France. Note for this film as it has literally no visuals and would otherwise be a blank black or white screen I added some using static from a destroyed VHS tape which should provide some visuals while being in keeping in with the basic concept of relying on the sound F/X to tell the narrative such as it is.

"WOCHENENDE" (1930);


In 1933 he tried his hand at a proper feature film with "Acciaio" (AKA "Steel") a gritty melodrama shot in Italy with an Italian cast, about a lover's triangle among the working class set in a steel mill. After the coming to power of the Nazis in 1933 virtually every other figure associated with Dada, Surrealism and Cubism had their works banned and/or destroyed and fled Germany. Ruttmann however chose to stay. He had the patronage of Leni Reifenstall and worked as an assistant on her infamous Nazi propaganda films "Triumph Of The Will" and "Olympia" as well as working on newsreels for Joseph Goebbels Ministry and making a number of propaganda films most of which are not currently available with two exceptions. "Deutsche Panzer" (1940) is a short film about the making of the Tiger Tank and as such it is somewhat predictably focused on the mechanics of the process with plenty of gleaming metal and could just as easily be a film about the building of a British or American tank. There is nothing particularly fascist about this film. In fact the Allies did produce very similar (if less stylish) films about their own war machines and would continue to do so in the Cold War and into the Space Race. The one difference between this film and comparative films made by the Allied Powers is in an early scene which shows school kids learning engineering so they can become tank builders for the future. The incorporation of children as cogs in the unified Nazi state is a common theme in authoritarian states and would not have turned up in a similar films about building the Spifire or B52.

"DEUTSCHE PANZER"(1940);


Ruttmann's political views are contradictory, he was a pacifist who had spent time in the USSR advising Soviet filmmakers but unlike many other filmmakers he did not flee Germany when the Nazis took power. His decision to stay in Germany while many of his colleagues fled could be explained by any number of reasons; he had a successful career and did not want to start over again, perhaps like the actor Emil Jannings he spoke no other languages fluently. Like Hans Richter (who did flee) he had roots in the Dada art scene the Nazis would ban but unlike other Dadists he had already moved beyond that world into the mainstream where he had made films for advertisements and could continue to find work. Unlike Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt and Brigitte Helm he did not have a Jewish roots or a Jewish spouse nor had he been involved with leftist politics so he was in no particular danger himself as long as he toed the line.  What few hints there are in "Berlin" and his previous Dada Op Art shorts as well as the Dada milieu show him as having vaguely liberal beliefs; He does show poverty (but does not draw any larger conclusions), he is comfortable with the sort of people the Nazis would vilify such as blacks and Jews, avante garde artists and writers who he does not vilify or mock. His entire filmography shows him as a master craftsman meticulously exploring the latest in film (and later sound) techniques and like Charles Sheeler a fascination with the form and function of structures and machines with comparatively little interest in people who are mere supporting players. It can be been pointed out however that an obsession with form and function to the exclusion of humanity is a common theme in Fascist art, allowing the artist to both glorify the power of the regime's power at the expense of the people who are mere cogs, easily replaceable, and distance himself and his audience to those who are not useful to such a system. In such a system a talented craftsman with no strong views or personal stake can make a comfortable living as long as he keeps his head down and does his job. That is in fact the basic defense offered by Leni Reifenstall herself to defend her work for the Nazis. In her case these excuses are now seen as being at least somewhat disingenuous and her links to the Nazis were more explicit than she let on. Ruttmann's case is less known as he did not survive the war and apparently left no record on his thoughts so we have to judge him on his work. As stated, almost all of his work that survives is not inherently objectable with the notable exception of one film.

"BLUT UND BODEN" (1933)

This film is the worst sort of Fascist propaganda, not only for it's message, which is vile and dishonest, but even setting that aside, to the extent that's possible, it's also bad filmmaking. This is strident, hectoring, lacking in any subtly and deprives the audience of the power to think or feel for themselves. In the film a German farm family have their farm foreclosed on, are forced to move to the city which is shown as crowded and alien and eventually return to farming in the German East. These parts of the film are done as melodrama with actors. The rest of the short film uses both animation and montage to present the case that the German farmer is suffering because alleged financial interests and banks flood the market with foreign produce, refuse to lend money for the manufacture of farming equipment and foreclose on people's farms. This film also advances another Fascist trope which advocated depopulating the cities, which they considered decadent and full of undesirable Jews, gays, intellectuals and leftists in favour of "returning to the land" and homesteading to revive the Ayran Herrenvolk's mystical relationship with "Blood And Soil" and colonizing the lebensraum the Nazis were expecting to open up in the east. This film is completely at odds with everything else Ruttmann ever did and it is certain that he did not write it. Instead it resembles the propaganda put out by Joseph Goebles both in message (of course) but also in it's style which is both strident and pedantic. The final scenes of happy Hitler Youth and Labour Front marching through the countryside with Nazi flags waving and dramatic music in the background could have been lifted from any propaganda film from Germany, Italy or the USSR. It leaves no room for subtlety although unlike other films from Goebbles propaganda mill it does not explicitly attack the Jews. Ruttmann's films have been criticized for being cold and remote but he had a lyrical sense and whatever message he had was implied through visual cues, not lectured through a droning narrator or rote acting. It would seem that Ruttmann's role here was to deliver some competent visuals for the city sequences for which he recycles some footage from "Berlin" which is probably why he was hired in the first place. This is ironic since Ruttmann's very existence is the opposite of the message of this film. "Blut und Boden" glorifies farm life and demonizes the city. Ruttmann was a product of the city and Avant Garde art scene and yet he is willing to trash it for the new masters. That this was a project done under orders and over which he had little or no input can be seen in how little this looks and feels from his other films which were innovative and imaginative, this one is dull and perfunctory, clearly he was not inspired by the assignment. Unlike Leni Riefenstall who did take obvious inspiration and energy from the Nazis for her films, Ruttmann seems bored, at least with this film, in "Deutsch Panzer" he is back in his element, with loving shots of gleaming machines. Whether Ruttmann was an actual Nazi or simply a craftsman who had made his peace with a totalitarian regime and was simply doing an asignment he didn't care enough to put much thought into this vile film is a blot on Ruttmann's legacy and makes more complicated the debate over Ruttmann's vs Vertovs's films. 

He was working on another newsreel film at the front when he was seriously injured in 1941. He died later of his wounds at age 53.



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"OPUS I - IV" COMBINED INTO ONE FILM";

The Art Nouveau Films Of Alla Nazimova & Natacha Rambova

Alla Nazimova (1879 - 1945) was the first female film auteur. She was not the first female film-maker, the French director Alice Guay Blache, the American Lois Webber and the Canadian Nell Shipman had been making successful films for several years before Nazimova's debut. However Nazimova was different, she saw film not merely a vehicle for entertainment, an extension of the popular stage, but as a real work of art, equal to the legitimate theater or opera and ballet. From the start of her film career she pursued her vision with a dogged persistence in defiance of studio or audience resistance.

EARLY LIFE AND STAGE CAREER;


Born in Yalta in the Crimea in 1879 of a Jewish family, her real name was Miriam Edez Adelaida Leventon and her childhood was unsettled with her parents divorcing and Miriam being shuttled between various relatives and boarding schools. She did however get a good education, learning violin and ballet before studying acting and theater at Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theater adopting a stage name of Alla Nazimova based on two of her middle names and the surname of a character from a Russian novel "Children Of The Streets".

After graduating she quickly became a star of the Russian theater scene in Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev. She was noted for her exotic beauty; statuesque and athletic with sensuous, vaguely Slavic features, large bright blue eyes and untamed hair. She was also haughty and charismatic, playing the role of the diva to the hilt, dressed in the latest in Art Nouveau fashions. As she became well known she would drop her first name and be billed simply as "Nazimova". With her training in both theater and dance she was noted for her grace and physicality. From the start she sought out serious roles, particularly in the plays of Ibsen and Chekhov, to rave reviews. Nazimova quickly became too big to be contained to Russia and she began a successful tour of Europe along with her lover, actor Sergei Golovin, which ended up in New York in 1906. She quickly discovered she could make far more money in America than in Russia and she elected to stay in New York. She managed to learn English in five months and would become a fluent speaker although never losing her accent. Golovin could not make the adjustment and returned to Russia. Nazimova was offered roles on Broadway where a theatre was named after her as she became a major star. She spurned the sorts of light comedies and maudlin melodramas popular at the time and continued doing the Chekhov and Ibsen plays to admiring reviews. Even the acerbic Dorthy Parker described her as the finest Heda Gabler she had ever seen.



Although Nazimova played the imperious diva she was also determined to take culture to the masses by appearing on the vaudeville stage, which few serious stage actors would deign to do. For Vaudeville she took the scenes out of Ibsen or Chekhov and boiled them down to one act plays. She also did short one act plays specially written for her, often with a progressive political slant such as "An Unknown Woman" about 1914 which advocated for simpler divorce laws (and which met with protests and bans) and the pacifist play "War Brides" in 1915. Surprisingly the demanding audiences of vaudeville gave her another enthusiastic reception. Working class immigrant audiences were entranced by her other-worldly larger than life personality and beauty. Between her Broadway and vaudeville careers she became one of the most highly paid actresses anywhere.



PERSONAL LIFE;
As one might expect the larger than life Nazimova led a scandalous personal life. While still in Russia she had lived with fellow actor and producer Pavel Orlenev even after she married another actor Sergei Golovin in 1899. She was rumored to have had a child with one of them in 1905. When she went on tour she took Orlenev with her and moved with him to America although he soon returned to Russia. In 1912 she married yet another actor, British actor Charles Bryant, even though she had never bothered to divorce Golovin.

The British born actor Charles Bryant (1897 - 1948) was a mysterious and contradictory figure. On the one hand he was widely rumored to be gay and it was always assumed that their marriage was one of convenience, designed to allow both to hide their respective sexualities. However as we shall see he would later leave Nazivoma, remarry and have children. Nazimova seems to have been genuinely devoted to him and gave him roles in most of her movies. More seriously he would also direct a few which would turn out to be a mistake since he was clearly less talented than she. Even more disastrous was that he acted as her manager and while he may have helped get her the creative control she sought his management of her money turned out to be ruinous.

CHARLES BRYANT;


Bryant would later abandon her in 1925 and she would move in with her longtime girlfriend Glesca Marshall while still taking other lovers. In spite of the male lovers she took she openly preferred women and attracted a harem of female lovers she did not bother to hide, airily referring to them as her "sewing circle". Among those women believed to be romantically linked to Nazimova included designer Natacha Rambova, actresses Jean Acker, Patsy Ruth Miller and Eva LaGallienne, Mildred Harris (wife of Charlie Chaplin), Edith Luckett (mother of Nancy Reagan, who Nazimova would be godmother to), director Dorthy Azner, writer Mercedes de Costa, painter Bridget Bate Tichenor and Oscar Wilde's niece Dolly Wilde (Alla was always a big Wilde fan). Nazimova generally remained on good terms with her lovers after the relationship ended and would help some with their careers.



While other stars would have their careers destroyed by scandals seemingly smaller than open bigamy, promiscuity and bi-sexuality, Nazimova's public image as an exotic European sophisticate, her aloof charisma and her haughty indifference to criticism seemed to insulate her from any such attacks, at least for a time. She also remained popular with many other actors, artists, dancers and writers who she befriended and supported, helping many get jobs. She was especially supportive of women artists who she saw herself as a role model for. With her extravagant nature she was generous to a fault to her friends in need and ran through money at a shocking rate.

In 1918, after her film career had taken off, she bought a large estate on Sunset Blvd (then a dusty dirt track) and built it into a luxurious Art Deco mansion dubbed The Garden Of Alla, The Garden became notorious for it's lavish parties which included the cultural elite as well as those from Hollywood's royalty she felt were cultured enough to invite, along with plenty of openly gay male and female artists, writers, musicians and actors. Naturally when prohibition became the law of the land in 1920 Nazimova openly flouted her disregard of the law at her parties.



FILM CAREER;
Always ambitious and adventurous, by the nineteen-tens Nazimova was beginning to look at the new medium of film. Originally, in the 1890's, film was considered a novelty, a cheap entertainment for nickelodeons playing five minute gag reels and burlesque dances. By the mid 1900's film-makers had graduated to telling proper stories, including attempts at classical themes like DW Griffith's version of Tennyson's "Enoch Arden" and three films inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, then there were several Italian films based on classical themes including an epic 70 minute version of Dante's "Inferno" in 1911. A few proper classical actors had even made an attempt at films including Sarah Bernhardt, Eleanora Duse, James O'Neill, Mrs. Leslie Carter, and opera singer Mary Garden, usually with great fanfare and notable lack of success. Nazimova however had carefully studied their failures and decided the problem was that these established stage stars had not given enough thought as to how acting for the silent screen would differ from the stage. They had simply taken their established stage roles and did them using the same exaggerated gestures in front of stage sets and a static camera. Nazimova realized, as would other former stage actors like Mary Pickford and the Barrymores, that film was in fact a different medium entirely and would require a more intimate acting style. She developed a style that incorporate her dancer's grace, physicality and sensuality along with her expressive face for a melodramatic, emotional yet aloof persona.



Nazimova had another advantage over the earlier generation of stage actors. By the time they had ventured onto the stage they were frankly too old to be seen as sex symbols. On the stage where the audience was far away age could be concealed easily and did not matter as much. But film was merciless in showing up sagging chins and wrinkles. Even though Nazimova was older than the usual screen ingenues she was at least a full decade younger than Bernhardt, Duse, Garden or Carter had been. Besides the trim and fit Nazimova looked like she was in her twenties anyway. She was looking forward to her close up. Finally; thanks to her vaudeville tours she had established a repore with the working and middle class audiences and was not seen as an imperious high class "proper" theater actor condescending to slum with the great unwashed.

EARLY FILMS;
ALLA ON "WAR BRIDES" SET WITH DIRECTOR HERBERT BRENNON (1916);


As World War One broke out in 1914 Nazimova began performing a short play called "War Brides" written by Marion Craig Wentworth. It was a thirty-five minute play which displayed her pacifist views. The short play was extended to to seventy minutes for a film version by writer and director Herbert Brennon, besides Nazimova the film would also star her husband Charles Bryant and a young actor named Richard Barthelmess who would later star in many films for DW Griffith. The story was based in a European country clearly meant to be Germany or Austria judging by the uniforms the soldiers wear. The plot involved a peasant woman whose husband and brothers are killed in war. She organizes an anti-war protest and is arrested by the king who decrees that all women should marry and produce sons for the army. She then kills herself in protest and following this the women of the kingdom take up her body and vow they will bear no more children until all war ends. The play created a sensation especially since the First World War had already broken out this was a topical and controversial theme and a daring choice for a first film. Film producer and fellow Jewish-Ukrainian immigrant Lewis Selznick decided to take a chance on the play and Nazimova and offered her a shocking $30,000 plus an additional $1,000 a day if the film went over schedule to lure her away from her busy stage schedule. she was also already well known enough, and presumptuous to insist on being billed simply as "Nazimova".



The resulting film, unfortunately now lost aside from a few stills, was a surprising hit especially since 1916 was an election year in which the war was the defining issue. However once America entered the war in 1917 it was quickly withdrawn from circulation as "unpatriotic", Selznick changed his mind and now stated that he "feared it might be misunderstood by unthinking people". More likely they feared it would be perfectly understood. Sadly no copies of this important film were saved.

PROMO POSTERS & ADS FOR "WAR BRIDES";


In spite of these controversies Metro Studios Louis B Mayer offered her an unheard of five year $13,000 a week contract which was $3,000 more than Mary Pickford, an already established star. Equally impressive for an actor with only one film to her credit Nazimova also got complete creative control, choice of scripts, directors and actors.



Her next film was was "Revelation" in 1915 again co-starring with her husband Charles Bryant, which would again have a war theme. She plays a cabaret dancer who becomes the mistress to a painter played by Bryant. Later after some religious imagery involving Nazimova and the Virgin Madonna (!) she becomes a Red Cross nurse and he joins the French army and gets wounded. They are reunited and marry at the end. A print of this film reportedly exists but is not currently available to the public.

PROMO PICS OF "REVELATION";


"Toys Of Fate" (1918) was an exotic romantic melodrama with a complex plot. Nazimova plays two roles; Hagar the wife of a Gypsy chief who she leaves to be mistress of a wealthy playboy and is then murdered. Nazimova also plays her daughter Azah who is also married off to the same playboy who is then murdered in turn. She is arrested and tried but acquitted and then marries her lover, played by Bryant. This film is now lost.

"Eye For Eye" (1918) was another exotic romantic melodrama. This time she plays a Arab princess who falls for a French officer and is banished to wander the desert and later becomes a dancing girl (of course). Written by June Mathis, who would work with Alla again. Another lost film.

PROMO POSTERS FOR "EYE FOR EYE";


"The Brat" (1919) was an ill-advised attempt at a comedy. In this Pygmalion-like story she plays a lowly chorus girl who is remade into a society girl by Bryant. This film was not a success and is now lost.



"Out Of The Fog" (1919) was a return to melodrama where she once again plays a dual role as a doomed mother and her daughter. This time however the action was not played out in some exotic locale but in a windswept lighthouse. Bryant again played her lover. This film is also lost.

PROMO PICS FOR "OUT OF THE FOG";


For "The Heart Of A Child" (1920) she again plays a dancer but this time she is a virginal waif who wins the heart of an English Lord played by Bryant who she marries. Plotwise this one sounds pretty dull but no doubt had some lively and elaborate theatre scenes. Unfortunately like most of her films this one is now lost.

"Stronger Than Death" (1920) has all the classic Nazimova ingredients; a dancing girl in an exotic locale (India), tragedy, romance, murder and a lover played by Bryant. Based on a novel with a screenplay credited to Bryant but probably actually written by Nazimova herself. And like most Nazimova's films it is now lost.

PROMO PICS FOR "STRONGER THAN DEATH";


"Red Lantern" is the one of her most important films. An epic costume drama set in China during the Boxer Rebellion with an anti-war and anti-racist message. Nazimova plays two roles; Mahlee, a half Chinese missionary who is cast out because of her mixed race, and her half-sister Blanche who at first does not know of Mahlee's existence. The film co-stars film heavy Noah Beery, her husband Charles Bryant, as well as the film debut of young Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong. At least two prints are known to exist and a DVD version is occasionally available in Europe.



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"THE RED LANTERN" (1919)


Directed by Albert Capellani
Written by June Mathis and Albert Capellani from a novel by Edith Wherry

Cast;
Alla Namizova ~ Mahlee & Blanche Sackville
Noah Berry ~ Dr Sam Wong
Frank Currier ~ Sir Phillip Sackville
Darrell Foss ~ Andrew Templeton
Winter Hall ~ Rev Alex Templeton
Margaret McWade ~ Madame Ling
Virginia Ross ~ Luang-Ma
Mary Van Ness ~ Mrs Templeton
Edward Connelly ~ General Jung Lu
Harry Mann ~ Chung
Charles Bryant ~ US Soldier
Reginald Denny ~ US Soldier
Anna May Wong ~ Girl
==========================================
Plot (spoiler alert);
Mahlee (Alla) is a half Chinese Eurasian woman of unspecified age whose mother has died in child birth and her father is unknown by her as he had bought her mother from her grandmother, Madame Ling (McWade) who she now lives with in 1890's Peking. Before leaving her father, the wealthy Sir Phillip Sackville (Currier) left money for her upkeep with the proviso that her feet not be bound according to custom. He has never returned. Mahlee is an outcast from Chinese Being of mixed blood as well as for not following the ancient Chinese custom of having her feet bound. A soothsayer predicts that she will become a great lady before suffering misfortune. Mahlee brushes him aside. Her Grandmother Ling, elderly and ailing, awaits death. She is shamed by Mahlee's mixed blood and unbound feet.
Madame Ling is dying and reveals to Mahlee her mixed blood heritage and she begs Mahlee to adhere to custom and deform her feet. Mahlee first refuses but then later relents and agrees however Ling dies before she can as an owl outside the window hoots. A nearby Christian mission school is run by Dr Templeton (Hall), his wife (Ness) and young adult son Andrew (Foss). Andrew hers Mahlee cry out and busts in to find her passed out and he carries back to the mission. Sam Wang (Berry), another half-Chinese man is employed at the mission in an unexplained but important capacity, he is preparing to go on an extended trip to America. When Andrew shows up with the unconscious Mahlee Wang is smitten with her but Mahlee falls for Andrew leaving Wang resentful.
Three years later it is 1900 and Mahlee has converted to Christianity and works at the mission as a teacher. The Boxers, a violently anti-western group have staged an uprising in the north and are advancing on Peking having massacred many westerners and Chinese Christians. Andrew is at a mission up north and has lost contact with the mission in Peking and Mahlee is worried. Meanwhile Sam Wang has returned from America. He is still smitten with Mahlee but she again rebuffs him.He claims to be opposed to the Boxers. Andrew returns wounded explaining has only just managed to flee the boxers who are closing in on the city. Mahlee nurses him back to health (also reading to him from a book of Kipling's poems which includes the lines; "East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet") while being spied on by the jealous Wang who confronts her and tells her that she will never be accepted by Andrew and his white society. Wang tells her of being snubbed while in America. Andrew starts to fall for Mahlee. Sir Phillip Sackville arrives from America with his daughter (and thus Mahlee's half sister) Blanche (also played by Alla) and are spotted by Chung, a spy who recognizes him and knows that he is Mahlee's father although Mahlee does not know this nor do she and Blanche know of each other. Andrew introduces them to Mahlee and Sir Phillip recognizes her although he does not say so. Wang suspects the truth. Andrew becomes attracted to Blanche forgetting about Mahlee who becomes jealous. Wang recruits her to join the Boxers. Rejected by Andrew and the Templetons Mahlee leaves the mission and joins Wang and the Boxers at their temple. Wang has come up with a plan to have Mahlee impersonate the Queen Of The Red Lantern and rouse the people to rise against the foreigners. Mahlee agrees to play the role and appears at a ritual in elaborate costume presided over by Wang where she blesses the Boxer cause. General Jung Lu, commander of the Imperial Chinese Army (Connelly) arrives to observe the ritual where he appears to support the Boxers
Mahlee returns home alone and begins to gave second thoughts. Wang arrives and tries to seduce her with threats. Mahlee tries to flees but is overcome. However she is rescued by Chung who takes her back to the Palace, knocking out Wang in the process. When he recovers Wang is summoned to meet General Jung at the Palace.Upon waking up Mahlee finds herself at the Palace as a prisoner of General Jung who demands she and Wang impersonate the Godess again in front of the Empress to convince her to join the Boxers. Mahlee is reluctant but agrees. Mahlee again plays the Godess and commands the Empress to attack the western missions. Meanwhile Andrew discovers her missing and becomes concerned.
The next morning the Boxers attack the mission district in Peking where the westerners have barricaded themselves in. The Soothsayer woman finds Mahlee at the Palace and tells her the Sir Phillip and Blanche are her father and sister. Mahlee runs to the mission to beg Sir Phillip to recognize her but he refuses. An angry Mahlee returns to the Boxers although Andrew tries dissuade her she pushes him away. Days later the Mission has not fallen and a relief column of western troops arrives to lift the siege defeating the Boxer army while Wang tries to rally them. General Jung blames the Red Lantern Goddess for the failure and she flees to Wang's mansion as the American troops rescue the mission. Wang and Chung shelter her but is shot by a sniper and dies. Before doing so he gives her a vial of poison. Mahlee orders Chung to take refuge at the mission with a message to Sir Phillip leaving her alone. he decides to take the poison while sitting on her throne. Chung delivers the note and collapses. The note is a suicide not in which she declares she wishes to go "Where there is no color, birth, nor creed". Sir Phillip, Andrew and Blanche rush to Wang's mansion but are too late. Mahlee is dying on her throne reciting the line from Kipling's poem; "East Is East". She dies as the owl outside hoots again. Finis.



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This is an ambitious film, not only for it's elaborate sets, costumes and army of extras but also for it's theme condemning racism and the film is not subtle about this. It may be unique in films of the era (excluding those made by black filmmaker Oscar Michaux) in having none of the white characters be the heroes. Sir Phillip is selfish and cruel in abandoning Mahlee in the first place then rejecting her when she finds out the truth. He does repent at the end but by then it is too late. The Templetons take Mahlee in but also reject her when she falls for their son. Even her beloved Andrew also rejects her for her white half sister Blanche, although he also repents too late at the end. Blanche is the only white character who is blameless, she does not know they are sisters or that she is in effect stealing away Andrew although Blanche is given little screen time and is essentially a passive figure. Mahlee is repeatedly rejected by those in who she loves in white society. The same is true of Dr Wang who is a villain but is shown being snubbed while in America as the roots of his resentment. Even though Wang is malicious and sneaky he is in his own way loyal to Mahlee who he stands by at the end. Wang is also brave, trying to rally his troops and fighting to protect Mahlee unlike the devious General Jung who flees to the palace to blame the Boxer's failure on Mahlee and Wang. As for Mahlee, she is a tragic figure, rejected by both white and Chinese society as well as her family including her grandmother. Her jealousy, resentment and loneliness drives her to make a mistake in joining the boxers which leads to many deaths, including her own, but the audience can understand what drove her and for that matter even what drove Wang.

As so few of Alla's films survive we have to make many assumptions about her work based on film stills, lobby posters and film reviews but "Red Lantern" appears to contain all the themes associated with many of Alla's films; an exotic, tragic woman in an exotic locale wearing glamorous outfits tempting men but also being used or rejected by them and often meeting a bad end. This was a common fate for "Vamp" characters but Alla shows more depth and self-awareness than the likes of Theda Bara or Mae Murray and is thus a more sympathetic character. As we have seen besides being a better and more experienced actor than the other various Vamps, Alla was also smarter and having control of the movies she did and the characters she played. Since only three of her films are currently available and this is the earliest surviving one we can only make assumptions about what her acting style might have been like before this film but here she shows that while she does engage in some the typical stagey emoting of the era her skills went beyond that and was in fact quite naturalistic for it's time. Note her body language as Mahlee; at the beginning she is timid and hesitant, later as a teacher at the mission she is relaxed and happy, still later as the Boxer Goddess she attempts to be imperious but her unease is clear. In her dual role of Blanche she has little to do as she is in far fewer scenes and has little to do but her body language still has the virtuous confidence of the favoured white daughter and manages to look quite different from Mahlee.

One notable difference in Alla's film-work which we will see again is her generosity as an actor. She is willing to allow other actors room to dominate her in some scenes, notably Beery as Sam Wang and Margaret McWade as Madame Ling, if that strengthens the scene. Since one of Alla's trademarks was her love of elaborate costumes and in spite of the gorgeous stills and posters from this film is worth pointing out that for most of this film her costumes are actually fairly drab. As the outcast daughter she wears humble Chinese coolie pajamas. Later as the teacher she wears a chaste and formless dress with braided hair, neither is flattering. As Blanche she does get to wear a pretty but conventional Victorian dress and hats but only as the Boxer Priestess does she get to wear an ornate dress and headdress with pearls. This may have been by design to stress her humble origins and make her later transformation into the Boxer priestess more dramatic. Again her willingness to to allow herself to look fairly plain for much of the film is something a less secure and shrewd actress might not have approved of.

ALLA AS MAHLEE;


Veteran screen heavy Noah Beery as Sam Wang is a predictably strong presence here but while he is villainous, like the characters often played by Lon Chaney he is also a troubled and somewhat sympathetic character. He is clearly shown as a victim of white racism as well as being, like Mahlee, a lonely outcast from the white society he clearly wants to join as being rejected by Mahlee. Even as a Boxer leader Wang is not even fully accepted by the Chinese court who are clearly using him, something he is aware of as well. While the (presumably mostly white) audience does not want him to succeed in his plan to wipe out the whites or get his hands on Mahlee they can at least understand what drives him and he dies honorably enough protecting Mahlee.

Darrell Foss as Andrew Templeton is a bland presence with too little personality to be much of a romantic lead. As the character is introduced he is supposed to be a dashing figure in his pith hat and safari clothes but after that he becomes wounded and is the dull and mostly oblivious object of Mahlee's attentions. Although this is probably not by design in the scene where he first sees Mahlee and carries her to safety it is notable how awkwardly he does so, lugging her like a small carpet in a way Douglas Fairbanks or Rudolph Valentino would have found laughable. In fact there is another scene later on where Alla again has to be carried to safety by the two spies and it is marginally less awkward in that that character is not supposed to be a dashing leading man. Alla was not a large woman, standing about 5.3 with a fit body and as a former dancer she should have been used to being carried but Foss just seems too callow for the task. Foss had already appeared with Alla in "The Brat" and maybe he was better suited for light comedy.

Note that the casts also lists her husband Charles Bryant and future stars Reginald Denny and Anna May Wong in her film debut but it is unclear what roles they play. Presumably Bryant and Denny are among the American soldiers and Wong, who would have been only fourteen years old is reportedly an extra.

We must take note of a fact modern audiences would certainly notice, namely that none of the Chinese of half-Chinese characters are actually played by Chinese actors (although most of the extras seem to be) but instead by white actors in sometimes not very convincing makeup. The comparison with blackface is tempting but unfair in this case. Firstly unlike blackface none of the Chinese characters are played as degrading stereotypes to be held up to ridicule, Mahlee and Wang are fully realized characters. The other Chinese characters are less so but that is because they are supporting roles. None are cartoon characters or racial stereotypes. The lack of Chinese lead actors is not even necessarily the fault of the filmmakers. The fact is that there were probably few Asian actors with film experience to chose from in 1920. By that date films were being made in China, Japan and even Thailand, although not yet of credible feature film quality, but very few would have have made their way to the West and none would have been seen outside those Chinatowns large enough to have a movie theater. These Chinese enclaves would have had their own established Chinese theaters and opera houses but again few whites would have gone there and few Chinese performers would have had any interest in performing for white audiences anyway. The casting of white actors in the two lead roles of Mahlee and Sam Wang was always inevitable as there were no Asian actors with the film experience or name recognition to play the leads in a big budget film. However they probably could have found a couple Asians to fill out some of the supporting roles, it's doubtful anyone gave the matter much thought. Asian characters and themes were not common either in film or on stage and the use of white actors was considered standard practice and not viewed as being equivalent to black face minstrelsy which had been done since before the Civil War and had always been rife with racist tropes. During the vaudeville era "ethnic humour" targeting various groups was quite common; Jews, Italians, Irish, Scots, Mexicans, Chinese and Native Americans were openly mocked but none of that sort of "humour" is on display here.

ALLA AS THE RED QUEEN IN "RED LANTERN";


As a proper European sophisticate Alla was a devote of Art Nouveau design as can be seen in the promotional posters made even before this film and the Chinese subject matter was popular with the Art Nouveau movement who prized Asian art (along with Persian, Turkish and ancient Celtic) for it's languid lines, soft colours and sensual curves over the sober straight lines and symmetry of the Victorian west. Thus some artistic themes that would appear in her later explicitly Nouveau films can be seen here especially the giant round door of the palace bedroom and Alla's costume as the Boxer Goddess. It's worth admitting that while many of the elaborate costumes worn at the Imperial Court, including Alla's luxurious gown, are authentic enough to those actually worn at the Chinese court of that era (which was actually only twenty years before) Alla's later more skimpy costume is definitely not. The modesty of the Manchu court would never have allowed the Goddess to show off her bare legs and mid-drift and in fact at this point she looks nothing at all like a Manchu princess and instead has a striking similarity to the roles already made famous by Theda Bara as Cleopatra, Salome and Carmen and this is probably not a coincidence. This film is different from most of her films in that as a rule Alla seems to have preferred intimate stories rather than epics with large casts of extras and giant sets however the larger sets are quite detailed and well made although in the street scenes many of the extras seem to mill about aimlessly.

We should also note in passing that even though this film was made a mere twenty years after the Boxer Rebellion it is wildly inaccurate. Setting aside that there was no such thing as a "Boxer Goddess" the Boxers were a violently nationalistic paramilitary group and there is no way they would have accepted the leadership of two mixed blood Christians like Mahlee and Sam Wang. In fact they would probably killed them along with other westerners they got their hands on.

The director of this film; Albert Capellani was a Frenchman who had made his name making historical epics with versions of "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" (1911, not the Lon Chaney version), "Marie Tudor" (1912) and "La Boheme" (1913). As well directing Alla in "Eye For An Eye" and "Out Of The Fog". Ironically he also did a version of "Camile", a film later made by Alla, in 1915 starring the scandalous Clara Kimbal Young. The screenwriter was June Mathis who would soon work with Alla again.

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She was now known for big budget melodramas with Nazimova playing a tragic heroine or martyr and were noted for their lush sets and costumes and yet most still managed to make a profit. the 1919 popularity poll in "Photoplay" magazine she was ranked number four behind the likes of Chaplin, Fairbanks and Pickford. In fact when Fairbanks, Pickford and Chaplin, along with Griffith, set up their own United Artist Studios Nazimova went with them. UA would give her and other artists the creative control she craved. By 1920 however times were already changing. It was the start of the Jazz age and suddenly the character of the Euro-Vamp was suddenly seen as passe' and actresses like Theda Bara saw their careers go into decline to be replaced by the party girl flappers like Clara Bow, Corrine Griffith and Colleen Moore. However Nazimova's image was far more sophisticated than the average vamp and she was clearly smarter, and being on UA meant that she had more creative control for her next films which would be more ambitious and expensive while keeping to her image as an exotic tragic heroine. These would be the appropriately named "Madame Peacock" and "Billions".

PROMO POSTERS FOR "MADAME PEACOCK" & "TOYS OF FATE";


Both "Madame Peacock" and "Billions" would be written and produced by Nazimova herself and would feature her free-spending ways in the elaborate Art Deco sets and costumes. "Madame Peacock" was based on a short story and adapted by Nazimova herself in which she once again plays two roles as mother and daughter and she once again plays an actress. The mother character abandons her husband and daughter to pursue an acting career only to later have her then grownup daughter upstage her. Unlike many of her other melodramas this one had a Hollywood ending with the family being reunited and living happily ever after. By this point her films were becoming rather rote (except for the epic "Red Lantern") and this one was a failure. A single print of "Madame Peacock" is known to exist in Belgium but is not currently available aside from a short screen test clip which shows her usual sense of style.

ALLA SCREEN TEST FOR "MADAME PEACOCK";


"Billions" (1920) has another complicated plot with Nazimova playing a Russian princess who sponsors a struggling artist (played again by Bryant) until she loses her fortune in the Russian Revolution and they and up fleeing to America and living happily ever after. This film was another mediocre offering but it did start her collaboration Natacha Rambova who designed some impressionistic sets for a dream sequence. Unfortunately aside from a few stills this film has been lost.

PROMO PICS FOR "BILLIONS" & "HEART OF A CHILD";


Both these films were money losers, due partly to the lavish budgets. In the 1920 "Photoplay" poll she had dropped to number 20, still respectable but a clear slide. Nazimova had to take stock; changing her style and image was not really practical even if she had wanted to, her public image being too well defined. Besides she had witnessed attempts by the likes of Theda Bara and Mary Garden to modernize or soften their images only to be rejected by their audiences. Instead she would double down on her lush, exotic, melodramas. She planned an extravagant adaption of a version of a story based on the Greek goddess Aphrodite which was cancelled due to the studio censors concerns about it's sexual nature. Then she settled on Alexandre Dumas' novel "Camile" in 1921. This would involve a new star Rudolph Valentino and her greatest collaborator; Natacha Rambova.

NATACHA RAMBOVA;


If Nazimova was a genuine classically trained European sophisticate Natacha Rambova was a carefully constructed persona. Her real name was the decidedly non-exotic Winifred Shaughnessy and she was born in the even less exotic Salt Lake City, Utah in 1897. Salt Lake City may have been a provincial frontier town but it was prosperous, and her parents were among the wealthiest and socially prominent and progressive in town. Her mother, Winifred Kimbal, was an interior decorator in a time when most women did not have careers and the daughter of a Mormon elder who would marry four times. Winifred's father Micheal was a wealthy mine owner who developed into a drunk and was divorced while young Winifred was a girl. The next two husbands were a prominent designer with the fourth being Richard Hudnut, a millionaire perfume manufacturer who would adopt young Winifred. Winifred got a good education and took a keen interest in art, literature, theatre and dance. She responded to the dislocation of her home life and the conservative atmosphere of Salt Lake City by becoming a rebellious and headstrong teen. Sent off to a private school she she was expelled for "conduct unbecoming" and was sent away even further to a boading school in London. There she would study ballet, learn French and then move to France to formally study ballet at the Paris Opera. As she set out on a career as a ballet dancer she broke off ties with her now disapproving family and changed her name to the far more exotic sounding Natcha Rambova, a name more fitting to a prima ballerina. She would sometimes also be billed as Natasha.

By this time the seventeen year old Natacha was tall (5ft 8in), slim, poised and gorgeous with perfect skin, luxurious dark hair and a noble face, the very image of Edwardian beauty. Unlike many other sex symbols of the age who look rather plain to today's eyes, she still looks striking in her photos. She started a scandalous affair with Theadore Kosloff (1882 - 1956) a leading Russian dancer and designer who was 32 years old, married with two children, with whom she toured Europe before World War One. As war loomed they came to America where Kosloff was given a contract by film maker Cecil B DeMille which besides acting and acting as choreographer included proposed set designs which he worked on with Natacha. It turned out that she was the more talented designer of the two. Natacha had developed a style heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau works of Aubrey Beardsley, Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Muchca, Arthur Rackham and William Morris along with the more modern Art Deco and Expressionist designs and an interest in ancient Egypt which she carried over to her elaborate set and costume designs.

NATACHA;


Unfortunately Kosloff turned out to be somewhat less than a gentleman. That Natacha had to tolerate his serial womanizing and temper tantrums which sometimes led to beatings was bad enough but she was furious when he took sole credit for set and costume designs for DeMille films like "Why Change Your Wife" (1920) which starred Kosloff opposite Gloria Swanson, on which Natacha had done the bulk of the work. Not surprisingly for the times, DeMille took Kosloff's side leaving Natacha little recourse until Kosloff agreed to design sets for Nazimova's proposed "Aphrodite" film project. At the time Nazimova had no idea that Natacha was the creative brains of the team but when she found out she immediately hired her as production and costume designer and fired Kosloff. Naturally this brought an end to the relationship between Natacha and the controlling Kosloff who reacted by beating her and then shooting her in the leg as she fled. Her wounds were not serious and she did not call the police. This also ended her career as a dancer. She had always been considered too tall to be a prima ballerina anyway and without Kosloff's patronage leading parts were not going to be coming her way. From this point she would devote herself soley to designing for films and stage along with fashion and jewelry augmented with some occasional modeling.

THEODORE KOSLOF;


As might be expected Nazimova and Natacha hit it off right away. They had similar interests, tastes and personalities; Nazimova could almost serve as a role model for Natacha and Nazimova no doubt saw a younger version of herself in the beautiful and intelligent American. It has always been assumed, if never proved, that they had an affair. It would certainly be in character for both, Nazimova openly carried on affairs with many women and Natacha while more private and usually linked to men would be rumoured as being romantically linked later in life with former ballet dancer and art curator Stella Kramrisch.

NATACHA;


After the "Aphrodite" project was shelved the first film they collaborated on was "Billions" in 1920. This film is not currently available but productions stills show lush Art Nouveau designs typical of Natacha's work thus far. The next film would be an adaptaion of Alexandre Dumas' novel "Camille", a work that had been debuted as a play in 1852 in Paris and had been shown on Broadway the next year. The role had previously been played on film by none other than Sarah Bernhardt and Theda Bara. Nazimova would play the title role of a courtesan dying of consumption who is courted by a younger wealthy law student Armand. Set in a world of European wealth and decadence taking place in luxury hotels, casinos and apartments the sets would be their most extravagant yet showing the Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences Nazimova and Rambova shared in the elaborate and expensive sets and costumes. For the role of Armand Nazimova wanted someone more clearly European and sultry looking and younger than Charles Bryant and sent for a young actor who had recently come into much attention; Rudolph Valentino.

RUDOLPH VALENTINO;


Valentino arrived in America in 1913 with no money, little education and speaking no English. He worked as a gardener and barber before making his way to Hollywood as part of a Latin dance troop that broke up leaving him stranded and sleeping on a park bench. By 1920 he had been scraping out a living appearing in small film roles and as a tango dancer for about four years. Popular leading man Milton Sills and respected stage and film actress Geraldine Farrar saw potential in him and encouraged someone to take a chance on him. Finally in 1921 screenwriter June Mathis cast him as the lead in a costume melodrama set in Argentina few had high hopes for called "The Four Horsemen", it was a shocking success and made him a star overnight as the archetypal latin lover. Mathis probably recomended him to Nazimova as Mathis was working on the screen adaptation for "Camile". Nazimova was at first resistant to cast him in the role of Armand the young student suitor and she was not in fact impressed with him, finding him crude, uncultured and ill-educated. She had to admit though that he had smoldering screen presence and was a great dancer. Rambova was similarly unimpressed with Valentino at first but began to take pity on him when she decided his unprofessionalism (lateness, not remembering his marks) and lack of polish was due not to rudeness but insecurity, loneliness and lack of experience. It helped that for all his screen presence as a dominant lover he was actually pliable and easliy led, especially for strong willed, intelligent and glamorous women like Rambova and Nazimova. He also came cheap in spite of his new found fame due to his terrible head for business and the bad contracts he had signed. Nazimova and Rambova would soon essentially took over his career and in fact his life in general, exploiting his Latin Lover image by dressing him in the latest European Art Deco fashions and tutoring him in poetry. Nazimova even played matchmaker deciding he needed an appropriately glamorous lover and thus setting him up with Jean Acker, one of her own "sewing circle" harem. Acker was a minor actress known as a beautiful if rather chilly flapper and Nazimova was no doubt looking to advance both their careers. Accordingly they were quickly married with Nazimova's encouragement. As it turned out she was a poor matchmaker. However much of the melodrama which would ensue would not become public until after the film was done.



CAMILLE (1921);


Cast;
Alla Nazimova ~ Marguerite Gautier (AKA Camille)
Rudolph Valentino ~ Armand Duval
Rex Cherryman ~ Gaston Rieux
Arthur Hoyt ~ Count De Varville
Zeffie Tilbury ~ Prudence
Patsy Ruth Miller ~ Nichette
Elinor Oliver ~ Nanine, Marguerite's Maid
William Orlamond ~ Monsieur Duval
Consuelo Flowerton ~ Olympe
Directed By Ray Smallwood, Script By June Mathis adapted from Alexandre Dumas

Plot Synopsis (spoiler alert);

Nazimova plays Margarite Gautier, a courtesan living in Paris. She is constantly surrounded by wealthy (and mostly older) suitors who she entertains at expensive restaurants and her lavish apartment all of which are decorated in lush Art Nouveau/Art Deco styles. She is also hiding a secret, that she is terminally ill with consumption (AKA tuberculosis).
Armand (played by Valentino) is a young law student who sees her at a dinner while out with his friend Gaston (Rex Cherryman) and is smitten. Gaston is already acquainted with Margarite and he introduces her to Armand. At first she mocks Armand as crude and naive but she invites both students back a party at her lavish apartment along with another friend, Prudence (Zeffie Tilbury), an older woman who hangs around Margarite. There Margarite flirts with both students along with other suiters. Nichette (Patsy Ruth Miller) arrives, she is a young intimate friend of Margarite's from before her courtesan days. Gaston sees Nichette and is immediately smitten. Margarite at first scolds him for being too forward but then encourages the relationship after he is more respectful. Later Margarite retreats from to her room with a coughing attack. While the other guests callously mock her or continue with their increasingly wild party Armand alone is concerned and looks in on her. She reveals her illness as well as the origin of her nickname Camile which comes from a delicate flower called the carmella which dies if damaged. He tells her she needs to stop the party life before it kills her. She tells him that he should forget her but he begs her to let him stay.

Later Margarite and Armand move to the country where he takes care of her and convinces her to leave her former life behind. They are shown having a picnic near a church where he reads to her from a book about an eighteenth century romance wherein a French nobleman gives up his title to elope with a disgraced courtesan. This is shown in a dream sequence in which Nazimova and Valentino play the couple. Margarite sees this as an omen that she will ruin his life. She does not tell him of this. Later she is visited by Armand's father who convinces her to break off the relationship so as to save the family name. She agrees and runs off to Paris in the dead of night through a rainstorm with a wealthy client, the older and arrogant Count de Varville, leaving Armand a perfunctory note. She does not reveal his father's role in her desertion or her illness.
Armand is stung by her rejection and sinks into the revels of the Paris nightlife, taking up with a slatternly young courtesan named Olympe (Consuelo Flowerton). When Armand sees Margarite at a casino he creates a scene and publicly insults and snubs her. He then storms out abandoning Olympe who immediately takes up with Count de Varville who abandons Margarite. Humiliated Margarite retreats from the nightlife scene and gives up her life as a courtesan. Her illness also becomes worse and she takes to her bed. Her fortune is depleted and she has her furniture and jewels repossessed all except for the romance book that had been a gift from Armand. Only her maid remains loyal. Realizing she is dying she sends a note to Armand willing him the book and proclaiming her love. Armand's father, feeling guilty gives him the note. Gaston and Nichette arrive at Margarite's apartment, they are now married. She is happy to see them but soon dies clutching Armand's book before Armand has a chance to return to her. Finis.
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ALLA & RUDY;


Plotwise this is a straightforward romantic melodrama with a story that is not too convoluted and a main cast that is not too big to keep track of. The acting by most of the cast is fairly natural with the notable exception of the scene at the casino where Armand confronts Margarite. Here Nazimova, Valentino and Consuelo Flowerton (as Olympe) engage in the kind of over-acting that seems phony to modern audiences. Otherwise Nazimova manages to stay just on the right side of emoting. She acts with her expressive face and fluttery arm movements to convey her vulnerability even in the early party scenes. Later as her character becomes weaker and more depressed her body becomes heavier, with slumped shoulders instead of the earlier over-eager gyrations. Valentino has obvious stage presence, although in his other films he would engage in some over-acting with flamboyant gestures, obvious posing and much eye rolling and leering, here he is more understated. He is actually far more believable as a sensitive and vulnerable youth than as a swaggering rake. The other actors are solid as well; the otherwise obscure Rex Cherryman (who had appeared in "Madame Peacock") is fine here as Gaston, smug and jaded in the beginning and ernest after meeting Nichette. Patsy Ruth Miller was a pretty young actress who was actually discovered by Nazimova herself. Patsy was a seventeen year old aspiring actress and writer from St Louis who attended one of Nazimova's Garden of Alla parties. Patsy is cute and perky as Nichette. Note that while Margarite and Nichette were supposed to be old friends Nazimova was actually almost twice Patsy's age. This is not obvious on film however. What is obvious was the lesbian subtext in their relationship, especially given Nazimova's known unconventional private life. Rumors about Nazimova and Miller surfaced but were not known by the public at large however and a possible scandal was averted. William Orlamond as Armand's father conveys the right mixture of stern disapproval and compassion in a role that could have been a stock villain. The exception is Consuelo Flowerton as Olympe who is slutty and overbearing in her one scene, but that may have been the intent. Still, she looks more like a Chicago gambler's moll than a Paris courtesan.

PATSY RUTH MILLER;


The director is listed as Ray Smallwood, who like all of Nazimova's directors, except Albert Capellani, was a journeyman of little note. The likelihood is that Nazimova largely acted as director herself, using the "directors" more as cameramen to get the shots and editing right rather than handling the actors. The camerawork here is merely competent rather consisting of either long shots to show off Natatcha's sets or close-ups to show off the attractive cast. The lone exception is the excellent sequence where Camile's car returns to Paris in the dead of night with the rain coming down in blowing sheets. There is no indication that Nazimova or Smallwood were paying any heed to the exiting ideas coming from the new wave of European directors with their kinetic moving cameras and odd angles. This is unfortunate since Nazimova would have been a natural for German Expressionism.



The art direction by Natasha Rambova is what really elevates the movie above the run-of-the-mill Hollywood melodrama. Noteworthy are the sets for three scenes; the luxury restaurant in the opening scene with it's spawling staircase, Margarite's apartment with it's large dome shaped glass bedroom doors and the elaborate casino. Natacha's style is usually described as Art Deco, mostly since Deco was the main decorative style of the nineteen twenties, and there are definite Deco influences to be seen here; the rooms are huge and airy and the walls are clean and unadorned by any Edwardian wall-paper or decorations. However the main influence for both Natacha and Nazimova was the Art Nouveau world of Aubrey Beardsley and Alphonse Muchca as can be seen in the overall designs with their languid flowing lines and atmosphere of sensuality and decadence as opposed to the more futuristic industrial feel of Deco. The luxurious staircase in the opening scene which seems to be made of equal parts enamel, bakelite, tinfoil and marzipan, is an obvious tribute to the works of architect Antonio Gaudi and sets the tone for the rest of the film. Next Margarite's apartment with it's huge dome shaped glass bedroom wall and doors and the circular window outside, where it is always either raining or snowing. Her entrance actually has a working indoor fountain. The only wall art in the apartment is the large cameo over the doors which looks distinctly like a Mucha piece. There is a similar clock in the bedroom. There are some posed shots of Nazimova and Valentino which are clearly meant to invoke Beardsley. The masterpiece of design however is the casino. The room itself is another sweeping Guadi design with three dome shaped entrances. The drapes over the two side doors have floral designs which show a William Morris influence while the center door has frosted glass doors covered with a spiderweb motif behind which dancing girls slowly frolic in silhouette again invoking Beardsley. The dancing girls wear dresses inspired by Josephine Baker as do the barmaids, these are definitely more Deco influenced than the rest of the room. It's worth noting that the vulgar Olympe character is also more clearly dressed in 1920's style instead of the oddly flowing robes favoured by Nazimova. Her own look is too idiosyncratic to be tied to a particular style unlike Olympe, the crass and modern gold-digger who pushes her aside. As for Nazimova herself; with her untamed hair, full lips, raccoon eyes and splayed footed ballerina walk she resembles more one of Egon Schiele's models than a sleekly lacquered 1920's flapper like Gloria Swanson.



It's also worth noticing the scenes when the film departs from it's atmosphere of Nouveau decadance. When Margarite moves with Armand to the country her clothes are distincly more modest (at least for her) and her house, while comfortable and airy is respectable. Note that while the Nichette character is Camile's closest friend she dresses in a much more low key girl-next-door style to contrast with Camile's courtesan. The outdoor picnic scene with it's church and simple country people in their Sunday best almost looks like it belongs in another movie. Probably one by DW Griffith. The contrast is no doubt intended. In it's treatment of sensuality and decadence the Nazimova's film shares a sensibility with other transplanted Europeans like Eric Von Stroheim ("Greed", "Foolish Wives'), Ernst Lubitsch ("Three Women" "Rosita") and Paul Leni ("The Man Who Laughs") than with Americans like Griffith and Cecil B DeMille. The Europeans did not feel the need to distance themselves with moralizing or satire. True Camile does die, but her death is due to consumption, not to any fault of her lifestyle. That she dies without her lover is due to the hypocritical moralizing and immaturity of others. Her Camile is actually loyal and caring in her way. The only real villains of the film are Count Varville and Olympe and the nameless creditors who leave Camile in poverty on her deathbed, and there is no comeuppance for them. Maragrite is not shown as a figure of ridicule. For good comparison it would be useful to examine an American film of the same era done by the most successful American director of "decadence"; Cecil B Demille's "Why Change Your Wife", especially since this is a film that Natacha Rambova also did art direction for.

"WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE" (1920);


Cast;
Gloria Swanson ~ Beth Gordon
Thomas Meighan ~ Robert Gordon
Bebe Daniels ~ Sally Clark
Theodore Kosloff ~ Radinioff The Violinist
Sylvia Ashton ~ Aunt Kate
Directed by Cecil B DeMille (with art direction by Natacha Rambova and Theodore Kosloff)

Plot Synopsis (spoiler alert);
Beth and Thomas Gordon are a young and bored couple who have been married for some years. Thomas is a happy-go-lucky sort who likes to dance to jazz records, play with his dog and lounge about in his private bar/wine cellar. Beth is a nag who is constantly trying to get him to quit drinking, keep the dog outside, read books and listen to classical music. She is well-intentioned but humorless, she also dresses plainly. He tries to get her to loosen up by buying her an expensive cocktail dress and tickets to a show. She does not like the dress and refuses to go. They fight and he goes without her taking Sally, a sales clerk from the dress store who he knows slightly. Sally takes him back to her apartment and tries to seduce him. He is tempted but returns home late. Beth smells Sally's perfume and is suspicious. They fight again and she kicks him out, later filing for divorce. Thomas takes up with Sally who he later marries.
Beth's Aunt Kate tries to cheer Beth up by taking her on a shopping spree to but new less dowdy clothes. At the dress store Beth overhears the dress shop girls gossiping about her broken marriage and mocking her frumpy dress. Beth is furious and decides to "play the game" by buying a new flashy wardrobe. Beth holds a recital for Radinioff, a pretentious classical violinist. He is so boring that most of the guests start to nod off. Aunt Kate convinces Beth to take a vacation at a luxury spa. Meanwhile Thomas has discovered that Sally is an even bigger nag than Beth, he begins to regret his choices. Sally also convinces Thomas to take her to the spa.
Beth is at the spa, no longer dowdy she is dressed in the height of flapper poolside fashion. All the eligible bachelors crowd around her including wealthy playboys, military and naval officers and even a pilot, all in full uniform. Beth is flattered by the attention but waves them off. She is there with Radinioff. Thomas and Sally arrive, he sees Beth and is surprised by her new look. They talk amiably. Sally sees Beth and is suspicious. Thomas is jealous of Radinioff who flirts with Sally who is flattered. Thomas and Sally argue. There is a party that night but Sally refuses to go, she nags Thomas to stay in as well which he does. From his window he spots Beth and they wave. Beth dances with Radinioff but finds him boring. She decides to leave the spa and return home. Thomas is unhappy and decides to leave as well, telling Sally that he has to return to work. Thoams and Beth end up sitting together on the train. They reconcile.
Upon the train's returning to town and while walking with Beth, Thomas slips on a banana peel and is knocked unconscious. Beth takes him to her home and puts him to bed. A doctor advises that he not be moved for any reason. Beth phones Sally to inform her of the accident and of Thomas' whereabouts. A jealous Sally returns home with a private ambulance insisting on taking the unconscious Thomas home to keep him away from Beth. Beth tells Sally of the doctors' warning and refuses to allow Thomas to be moved. A fight breaks out between Beth and Sally. Sally throws a lamp which breaks a mirror. Beth grabs a perfume bottle and pretends it's acid, she threatens to throw it in Sally's face. Sally backs down and Beth allows her to stay. Thomas awakes and Beth and Sally fight again. Sally grabs the perfume bottle and throws it in Beth's face, it turns out not to be perfume. Beth laughs while Thomas is shocked at Sally's behavior. Sally announces she only married him for his money and storms out vowing she will get a divorce with an expensive alimony. Thomas and Sally divorce, Thomas and Beth remarry. Sally takes up with Radinioff even though she finds him dull. Thomas and Beth remarry, they will live happily ever after now that both have indulged their wild side. Finis.

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By the time of this movie Cecil B DeMille was already America's biggest film director having surpassed DW Griffith. DeMille's trademark themes were all in evidence here; an upper middle-class couple who flirt with decadence only to return home in the end, hints of sex without actually showing any, lots of lush sets focusing on bed and bathrooms, lots of shots of people in various states of undress and elaborate fashions for women. Gloria Swanson was DeMille's biggest star. She had actually been around for years starting as one of Mack Sennett's nameless bathing beauties where she was a tomboyish foil for the likes of Fatty Arbuckle. With DeMille she changed into working-class, Middle-America's idea of a sophisticate, taking lessons on poise and dressing in even more exaggerated versions of the most outre Art Deco fashions. Genuine Bohemians considered her a joke and Europeans found her cold and tacky but she became wildly popular with working class American women in a way that genuine Europeans like Nazimova, Pola Negri and Asta Neilson ever could because they identified with her. DeMille understood this and movies like this show this relationship explicitly. She starts the film as plain looking stick-in-the-mud with dowdy dresses, glasses and her hair up. Later she is transformed into the life of the party with the most expensive and elaborate clothes, her poolside outfit is especially over-the-top. By contrast Nazimova always stands out, she is never transformed, always an aesthete. At least in her surviving films and what we can gleam from accounts and stills from the rest. Nazimova was a figure to be admired from afar. In the early years of film audiences were happy with this, however by the twenties they had become used to personally identifying with screen figures and DeMille understood this better than anyone. Middle and Working class audiences wanted to live vicariously through the screen rather than admire it. Accordingly DeMille's protagonists are usually from the upper middle class rather than wealthy or pathetically poor. Typically in this film we never get a hint of what Thomas' job might be but he clearly has one, unlike Nazimova's idle rich loafers, and yet he has enough money to spend on decorating his home, buying fashionable clothes and taking nights out on the town. All aspirations shared by most working Americans in the Jazz Age without seeming completely out of reach. Similarly DeMille's married couples who flirt with the wild side before returning their mates was a recurring theme. DeMille understood the "seven year itch" of married life and encouraged audiences to live out their fantasies of one last fling in ways that would wrap up safely. Europeans like Nazimova and Von Stroheim by contrast offered pure decadent escapism with morally ambiguous endings. Similarly DeMille distances himself from any real decadence by using labored attempts at humour (mostly in the rather snide subtitles) and the transparent silliness of some the situations. Notice the scene where the newly glamorous Beth arrives at the pool side in her laughably impractical get-up. Immediately she is surrounded by a flock of admiring males who literally fall over each other for her favours. One is even a pilot still dressed in flight gear. Note also the ridiculous Grecian poolside dress of Radinioff. Even 1920 audiences probably found DeMille's plot contrivances also too silly to take seriously. To have both Beth and Thomas leave coincidentally on the same train is one thing but to have them seated next to each other without noticing is a stretch, even for Hollywood. As for having Thomas slip on a banana peel so Beth can take care of him? That's straight out of Mack Sennet rather than Ibson, Checkov or Dumas. No doubt Nazimova and Rambova rolled their eys at this transparent manipulation but DeMille would not have cared. Ultimately he knew his American audiences better than they. By comparison Nazimova has no apparent sense of humour at all, she takes her characters with complete seriousness. At least on screen, in life she was apparently a much nicer and more generous person than either the ego-maniacal DeMille or the brittle and temperamental Swanson. However on screen she is an unattainable tragic figure, her two attempts at comedies were failures. Swanson's acting style is much more realistic and restrained than Nazimova's posing and emoting and millions of American working class and lower middle-class woman identified totally with her, copying her sleek lacquered hairstyles and busy outfits. It is assumed that Natacha designed Swanson's outfits, especially the flapper swimwear, however it is noteworthy that her work with Nazimova is more restrained, less tacky and in-your-face as befits' the different personalities of Swanson and Nazimova. Swanson came from poor working class background in Chicago, she had to make a conscious effort to appear sophisticated, or at least the working class version of what that might look like. Nazimova however was an actual European Bohemian with full recognition as such, she did not have to try for such acceptance, she accepted it as her due. Swanson demanded to be taken seriously as a wanton aesthete, which she really was not. Her working class audiences identified with her however instead of the aloof European. As DeMille surely knew they would.

GLORIA SWANSON;


The look of the two films is noteworthy for both their similarities and differences. Natacha's influnce can be seen in the trademark sweeping staircases in a couple of scenes. The ornate bathroom has obvious Art Nouveau pieces as does the bedroom. The spa and pool are have the typical arched doorways and clean design as in the casino in "Camile". The differences however are equally important; "Camile" is clean and even spartan with no extraneous clutter, the walls are usually unadorned except for one tasteful piece. By contrast DeMille's movie is full of clutter with all sorts of bric-a-brac, some of it quite tacky, in every shot. Ever since Victorian times middle class families in fact displayed their homes in this way, using every wall space and horizontal surface to show off their possessions regardless of the clutter. Art Nouveau and especially Deco designers found this clutter gauche but while "Camile" is clearly more beautiful and looks more like an art exhibit it does not look lived in, DeMille's sets do. Contemporary audiences responded to this in way they they did not to Nazimova and Rambova's coolly perfect beauty although modern audiences may feel the opposite. DeMille movies look dated, like an eccentric aunt's house, while Nazimova's world looks like an exotic art exhibit.

GLORIA IN THE HOTEL LOBBY:


Another DeMille trademark was all the bathroom scenes. DeMille was the first director to have so much action there and at first this created a sensation which he emphasized by making those bathrooms as ornate as possible. These became such a popular part of any DeMille film that sales of imitation gold and marble bathroom setting skyrocketed in the twenties as a direct result. Nazimova's fantasy world doesn't even seem to have bathrooms, or kitchens for that matter. People do have dinner in her films, as here, but apparently the food just magically appears. There are bedrooms of course, since sex clearly exists in this world, but, like much of Nouveau and Deco design, they are dream worlds clearly not actually lived in.

Contemporary audiences responded to this by making DeMille the most famous director of his age. Bypassing Griffith and his Victorian attitudes as well as the no doubt more sophisticated, intellectual, artistic but remote and somewhat threatening Europeans like Nazimova, Stroheim and Pola Negri who would all see their careers go into decline. By contrast European audiences found DeMille rather vulgar and Swanson crass and oddly unerotic. Moderns will probably prefer the stark ethereal beauty of Nazimova and "Camile", they also might find it ultimately less patronizing than DeMille's smug moralizing.

GLORIA AND BEBE DANIELS;


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While Nazimova's previous last few films had not been successful "Camile" was a huge hit which gave her a career boost. It did even more for Valentino who quickly became a massive star making movies like the iconic "The Shiek" and becoming THE male sex symbol of the Jazz Age, a status he still holds.

For a change Nazimova's life was comparatively less dramatic. She apparently approved of the marriage of Rambova and Valentino and stayed on good terms with her (probable) former lover Rambova as was her wont. She was rumored to have taken up with Patsy Ruth Miller for a spell who would go on to appear opposite Lon Chaney in the even more successful "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" as the gypsy girl Esmeralda, her most famous role. Career-wise; after several of her previous movies (basically those after "Red Lantern") had done poorly "Camile" was a huge success and seemed to show Nazimova's star had not dimmed. In retrospect a big part of the reason for the film's success was no doubt due to the presence of Valentino, however Nazimova can be forgiven for making the assumption that there was still an audience for her take on European decadent art, so she and Natacha decided to make their dream project based on the works of two of their favorite artists, Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley in a version of "Salome", a role that had once again been played successfully by Theda Bara. Studio backers were dubious of what they regarded to be an ill-advised vanity project so she temporarily shelved it and instead reached back to her triumphs of a decade earlier with a somewhat belated screen adaptation of Ibsen's "A Doll's House".

"A Dolls House" (1922); Like "Camile" Nazimova would finance the film herself using Bryant as director although Rambova was apparently unavailable to act as art director due to being busy managing Valentino. The plot involves a woman, Nora, (played by Nazimova of course), who gets money to save her selfish banker husband Thorvald (played by Alan Hale sr) by getting money for medical treatment from a criminal, Nils. Thorvald survives to become bank director and Nils prevails on Nora to get him a job at the bank which she does. When Thorvald wants to fire Nils, Nora tells him the truth. A furious Thorvald accusing her of betrayal and insults her. She then walks out and leaves him. This film was not a success with many considering it an attempt by Nazimova to regain her lost youth at age 42 by playing a role from a decade earlier and is considered lost.



In spite of the relative financial if not critical failure of "A Dolls House", Nazimova and Natacha pressed ahead with their plans for "Salome". This ambitious film would be a complete break with any contemporary American films and would instead look to the new Expressionist films being made in Germany such as "The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari" and would be treated as a work of serious art akin to ballet or opera. Rambova would provide elaborate sets and costumes inspired by the work of Art Nouveau illustrator Aubrey Beardsley for an otherworldly atmosphere.



"Salome" (1923);


Cast;
Alla Nazimova ~ Salome
Mitchell Lewis ~ King Herod
Rose Dione ~ Queen Herodias
Nigel De Brulier ~ Jokaanan (John The Baptist)
Earl Schenck ~ Prince Naraboth
Arthur Jasmine ~ Herod's Page
Fredrick Peters ~ Executioner (?)
Directed by Charles Bryant, Produced by Alla Nazimova, Written by Natacha Rambova and Alla Nazimova (adapted from Oscar Wilde), Art Direction by Natacha Rambova

Plot Synopsis (spoiler alert);
Herod the King of Judea, is holding a banquet. Salome is his step daughter through his wife Queen Herodias. Herod lusts after the bored, spoiled and jaded Salome. Herodias is jealous of Salome and spends her time drinking, nagging him and flirting with a guest at the banquet. Prince Naraboth, Herod's chief bodyguard also pines over Salome but dares not act. His friend, a Page, begs him to forget her. At the banquet various wise men engage in animated but pointless debates which bore Salome. Herod drunkenly tries to appeal to Salome but is rebuffed as Herodias mocks him. Salome leaves the party and followed by Naraboth lingers at a courtyard where she hears a voice. She is told it is the prophet Jokaanan who has been imprisoned in a cell under a gilded cage in the courtyard. Salome demands to see him but the guards tell her that it is forbidden by Herod to speak to Jokaanan. When she orders a slave to bring Jokaanan to her the slave instead jumps to his death from the castle walls rather than defy Herod's orders. Salome notices that Naraboth has a key to the cage and asks for it. He refuses as the Page urges him to leave. Salome tells Naraboth he will earn her favour if he gives her the key, which he does. Jokaanan is freed and Salome tries to seduce him. He denounces her as a wanton sinner and returns to his cell as Naraboth kills stabs himself in front of Salome and dies.

Back at the banquet Herodias has been mocking the king for his weakness. Herod sends for Salome and commands her to dance for him. When she refuses he offers her half the kingdom as his queen. Herodias is outraged. Jokaanan can be heard from his cell denouncing Salome as a wanton woman. Herodias calls for Jokaanan's death as he has long been insulting her as well. Worried about a public outcry, Herod refuses. Salome agrees to dance for Herod if her wish is granted, he agrees. Salome dances for the excited Herod. She then demands as her wish the head of Jokaanan. Herod at first refuses but soon relents when his honour is questioned by Salome and Herodias. Herod orders his executioner, a huge black man, to behead Jokaanan but the executioner refuses, instead bowing to Jokaanan. Salome then tries to get the Page to kill Jokaanan but he too refuses and runs away. Herod orders his soldiers to kill Jokaanan which they do, delivering the head to Salome who kisses the lips and declares her love for Jokaanan. An angry Herod orders his soldiers to kill Salome. Herodias tries to object but is restrained by a large slave. Several soldiers surround the defiant Salome who does not resist. The rest of the court, including the wise-men, slaves and guests flee the scene except for Herodias who is forced to watch as Salome is stabbed to death. Finis.
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Today we are used to having "art films" and underground music as important parts of mass culture. Making an obscure artsy vanity project with no commercial appeal would not be considered unusual, in fact some filmmakers make it a matter of pride to do so from time to time. However in the 1920's there was no such scene to speak of aside from a very small circle of Dadaists and Surrealists like Hans Richter, Marcell Duchamp, Man Ray, Salvador Dali and Viking Eggeling who made a few experimental films. But those films were short and low-budget films not meant for the larger public including Alla herself who was probably unfamiliar with them. Nazimova treated her obscure vanity project as if it were a regular Hollywood melodrama that audiences would accept as such. This either took great courage, sheer willful stubbornness, a deluded ego or a complete disregard of common sense. Or a combination of all of the above.

This strange film met with universal derision with critics deriding it for it's glacially slow pace, outdated acting style and pretentious costumes. Audiences stayed away in droves. Even before the film was released the press was had been getting rumors of the odd goings on at Nazimova's studios. The film went wildly over budget even though there are only a couple of sets and a small cast of unknowns with fairly static camera work. Most of the money was spent on Natacha's costumes and sets which included real gold and silver and semi-precious gems. There were reportedly also wild cast parties which resembled orgies with the cast and crew rumored to be entirely gay. Some of these rumors were no doubt exaggerated by gossips and rival studios but it is generally accepted that much of the cast was indeed gay, certainly the characters of Naraboth and the Page are stereotypically gay and some of the female extras appear to be men in drag. At any rate the final price tag was about $350,000, an astounding sum for those days (worth at least several million in today's money) for such a small film. Setting aside all this controversy from today's standpoint the film, while still having many flaws, has actually dated better than many contemporary films by DeMille or Griffith. First the flaws;



In the original Oscar Wilde version the character of Salome is supposed to be a teenager while Nazimova was by this point 43 years old. This point caused some ridicule at the time but since in the film Salome's age is not mentioned and Nazimova's trim dancer's body still looks youthful modern audiences are not likely to notice this very much. Besides there has always been a tradition of women playing much younger characters in fantasies, "Peter Pan" for example.

More seriously is the fact that the movie is indeed very slow moving with little action to speak of and the acting is oddly stilted, often amounting to little more than actors striking stylized poses. Sadly most of Nazimova's films have been lost but as "Camile" shows she could indeed act so her acting style here was obviously a conscious choice. It is often assumed that Nazimova was using her ballet training here and that is partly true but she was also probably thinking of an earlier tradition of staging "tableaus". Tableaus were a tradition on the Victorian stage in which a particular scene or soliloquy from a well known play or novel, typically Shakespeare, Dickens or Uncle Tom's Cabin would be performed. Often in a very "actorly" way with plenty of stagey posing and wide gestures towards the audience. In this way it was possible to present a proper play among a full vaudeville show for a working class audience that could be assumed already had some knowledge of the full play or novel. In the 1900's this tradition made it's way to the screen with stage actors doing short (five minutes or so) versions of scenes from Shakespeare and Dickens etc. These films, few of which survive, would have a single set and camera with actors acting as if they were still on stage, speaking their lines into the silent void and gesturing towards an audience they could not see. By the time Nazimova had made her first films this style had already been left behind (aside from some of the slapstick comics) but she would have been well aware of this tradition, indeed in her early stage days she no doubt performed in some of these plays. Nazimova and Rambova were probably also using this tradition to allow them to stage posed shots that pay homage to the works of the great Art Nouveau illustrator Aubrey Beardsley, an acknowledged inspiration listed in the credits. As noted earlier there are a few shots in "Camile" that have this quality but here most of the movie is given over to them.



As for the other actors in the film; most are obscure, although Nigel De Brulier, who plays Jokaanan had previously appeared with Nazimova in "A Dolls House". Their acting styles are a confused mishmash. Some (such as the characters of Jokaanan, Naraboth, The Page, The Executioner) adopt the same style as Nazimova, with the same statuesque posing. While the King and Queen over-act shamelessly, grimacing, eye-rolling, rending their clothes and gesticulating like an epileptic seizure. Basically displaying the kind of over-the-top emoting that moderns consider ludicrous about silent films. In fact this sort of acting was only typical in the 1900's and 1910's. By the time of this film even contemporary audiences would have been turned off by this sort of thing. Nazimova should have known better, but it may be that those actors were allowed to go over the top to compensate for the static posturing of the rest of the film. In any case it doesn't work.

SALOME BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY;


Finally the direction by Charles Bryant is pedestrian at best. This film is by necessity stage bound and tied to it's few sets. However most of the great German Expressionist films of the era were also shot entirely on stage sets indoors including the the films of Robert Wiene such as "The Cabinet Of Dr Caligari", "Genuine" and "Crime And Punishment" and Paul Wegener's "Der Golem". These films were also done on a limited budget, in fact that was one of the reason for shooting them that way. So it was clearly possible to work entirely on set and still have action sequences and mobile cameras. Nazimova and Bryant had to been aware of these German films, in fact they show a definite influence in their artsy staginess. And yet as a we have already seen in "Camile", Nazimova simply had no interest in the mechanics of film itself. She took great interest in sets and costumes as well as her own acting styles, but in terms of cinematography she had not moved since the early days of her first film in 1916. The camera once again is limited to wide shots to show off the gorgeous sets and closeups to show off the cast, especially Nazimova herself. It's possible that if a more talented director, like Robert Wiene, had been in charge the film would be more kinetic. However it's also possible that Nazimova always intended to film to look like an art exhibit. Unlike DeMille and Swanson she is not offering the vicarious thrill of high living. She, and the film are an art exhibit to be admired from afar. Taken on these terms, especially from the distance of ninety years, she succeeds.



The sets openly invoke Beardsley (as noted in the credits); note the prison's gilded cage and floral backdrop in particular. Rambova's costumes are over-the-top in a different way than Swanson's tacky look-at-me social climber. Women of the twenties actually could and did aspire to dress and wear their hair like La Swanson, and that was the intent. She was a role model for the working class waitress, office girl, store clerk, and house maid who daydreamed of Hollywood. Nazimova however presents herself as a fantasy figure, remote and unattainable. There is no attempt to relate to the camera, she simply poses as a haughty model in a Beardsley or Klimt painting. Actually her outfits are quite simple (aside from the jewels in her hair) compared to the voluminous robes of "Camile" or the elaborate layers and baubles of Swanson. The guards, dancing girls and other extras are more scantily clad than even those of ancient and biblical epics made by Griffith and Demille but more erotic and oddly tasteful in their way. Naraboth and The Page are clearly based on costumes worn by ballet dancer Nijinsky who both Nazimova and Rambova would have been quite familiar with. One of the wildest costumes is in an peculiar shot near the beginning showing three dignitaries at the banquet (who we never see again) reacting to the behavior of the other guests as they turn and stare at each other. They are wearing some sort of helmet and robes that look to our eyes oddly futuristic, in fact we have seen similar costumes in numerous sci-fi films since then from "Things To Come" to "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "Tron", "The Fifth Element" and "The Hunger Games". Ironically futurism was not what they were going for. Since sci-fi barely existed in Nazimova and Rambova's day that's surely not an influence they would have been expecting and may not have entirely approved of but it's hard not to look at this film and not think of artsy sci-films that have come since.



"Salome" was intended to look like a Beardsley painting come to life, although in a coolly remote way that Beardsley (who was famously ambivalent about the eroticism of his work, begging his friends to destroy it on his deathbed) would have approved of. Note that while the story emphasizes sex and death it doesn't actually show much of either, only oblique hints. Naraboth does kill himself, but bloodlessly, and the slave does leap to his death, but that is done in one of the only long shots in the film. There is no attempt to engage the viewer in any emotional way and it is too cold and remote to be erotic. The film is meant purely to be seen and admired like a Klimt in an art gallery. The cinematography has a lustrous sheen like Klimt painting, with Nazimova literally seeming to sparkle and glow. This is one time when Nazimova truly lives up to her oft described "ethereal" allure.

PROMO POSTERS FOR "SALOME";


This may have been the first feature film to attempt to try this idiosyncratic approach but it was not the last. In 1932 in the most obvious offspring American Avant Garde filmmakers James Sibley Waston and Melville Webber would make "Lot In Sodom", a silent film which would take much of the look of "Salome" but with hyper-kenetic camera work Nazimova never considered and Bryant would not have had the skill to pull off anyway. Other more recent "live action paintings" films would include 1962's "Last Year At Marienbad" (by Alain Resnais), and Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film "Barry Lyndon".

AFTERMATH;


As has already been stated the film was a complete failure. No major studio would agree to even distribute it even though Nazimova had already paid to film it, cleaning out her savings to do so. It sat on the shelf for more than a year, which is not unusual today, but in the twenties films were shot and released in less than a year. Eventually an independent distributor agreed to release the film where it promptly sank after being roundly ridiculed by critics and ignored by audiences. Nazimova Productions went bankrupt and she would have to raise money by converting The Garden Of Alla to a luxury hotel. That turned out to be another mistake as the hotel lost money and she was forced to sell out, although she would continue to live there as a permanent guest. With the money gone she was abandoned by Bryant who shocked Hollywood (where everyone had always assumed he was gay) by running off and marrying a wealthy heiress half his age named Marjorie Gilhooley with whom he would have two children. Bringing insult to injury Bryant caused more damage to Nazimova when he revealed that their marriage had never been legal, that she had never divorced and confirming some of the gossip of her private life. The resulting scandal helped finish both their careers. There had always been gossip about Nazimova's unconventional private life but for many years her European exoticism and the easy going atmosphere of the twenties gave her a pass. However by the mid-twenties public attitudes towards Hollywood were changing after a series of scandals.



1922 brought the start of the drawn-out Fatty Arbuckle trials. The same year also marked the still unsolved murder of film director William Desmond Taylor in a case which would reveal multiple affairs and rumours of drug use that would sink the career of virginal actress Mary Miles Minter. A year later popular matinee idol Wallace Reid would shock his fans and die of complications due to morphine addiction and alcoholism. Also in that year brought the also unsolved murder of Broadway showgirl Dot King. In 1924 popular screen comic Mabel Normand (already in trouble for her association with William Desmond Taylor) would be embroiled in a lover's triangle in which her chauffeur shot another man. With the always hostile church and women's groups fresh off of their triumph in getting prohibition passed and politicians demanding government censorship boards the frantic movie studios set about censoring themselves and using the excuse to shed troublesome or risky talents. DeMille was able to make the adjustment to the new order since his films had always had an element of essentially conservative moralizing, however winked at. However those actors and directors who were most associated with European decadence like Nazimova, Von Strohiem, Pola Negri, Theda Bara, Mae Murray, Asta Neilson and even Valentino himself saw their careers go into decline. Bryant would never work in films again, returning to Broadway while Nazimova would make a few more films it would be solely as an actor, she would never again be in charge.



In 1925, after more than a year away from the screen (a long time in the twenties when even big names made several films a year), Nazimova attempted to restart her career with "Madonna Of The Streets" appearing for half her past fee. The film was another romantic melodrama of the old type co-starring Milton Stills, a well known leading man of the day but it still failed to find an audience. She tried again with "The Redeming Sin", a story of the French underworld in which she plays yet another dancer-courtesan opposite villainous character actor Lou Tellegen. Both these films were done quickly and on limited budgets but sound reasonably promising enough, however both were failures and are now considered lost.

PROMO PICS OF "MADONNA OF THE STREETS", "REDEEMING SIN" & "MY SON";


In desperation the now 46 year old Nazimova played a character her own age in "My Son" opposite Jack Pickford (brother of Mary), whose career was also on the down-slide due to his alcoholism, and new leading girl Constance Bennett. This film also failed and Nazimova retired from film.



She would return to the stage with some minor success for fifteen years until 1940 when the now mature Nazimova would return to the screen as a character actress in supporting roles in a few films including "The Bridge Of San Luis Rey" and a remake of Valentino's "Blood And Sand". Unlike many figures of the silent era her long stage career meant she had no problem adapting to sound film although she never lost her Russian accent.

ALLA READING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY POEM IN "SINCE YOU WENT AWAY";


The remake of "Blood & Sand" gave viewers the only chance to see Alla in colour, albeit she was by that point in her sixties and wearing a drab washer-woman's dress. Even then we can see she still looked younger than she actually was and her expressive face and eyes had exchanged her imperious look for a more soulful one.

ALLA IN A TECHNICOLOR SCREEN TEST FOR "BLOOD AND SAND";


She remained a respected Hollywood figure as well as in the art world until she died in 1945 aged 66 of heart disease.

ALLA




Natacha Rambova and Rudolph Valentino would have an equally rough ride. His stage-managed marriage to Jean Acker was notably unsuccessful as she locked him out during the honeymoon and filed for divorce citing "cruelty" and claiming that he had struck her in an argument. She also created a bigger sensation when she claimed the marriage had not been consummated.

JEAN ACKER


Valentino was quickly swept up by none other than Natacha Rambova who became wife number two, before the divorce from Acker was even finalized creating still more headlines. Rambova essentially took over his life and career no doubt giving him much needed structure. The absurdly photogenic couple became an early tabloid favorite as they posed for endless photos and wrote a book of maudlin romantic poetry. However her artistic pretentious and domineering personality soon infuriated the film studios. The two collaborated on three films "Monsieur Beaucaire", "A Sainted Devil" and "Cobra" on which she was blamed for going even more wildly over-budget than she had on her films with Nazimova and clashing with the screenwriter June Mathis (whom she had worked with on "Camile" and who never spoke to her again) and the male directors and cast. After the couple lost a reported $500,000 (far more than on "Salome") on a never finished film called "The Hooded Falcon" she was banned from the film lots and he agreed to return sheepishly to United Artists with a deal that banned Natacha from any creative role on Valentino's films but did offer her a chance work on films on her own. She would make two films in which she would appear as well as providing art direction. "What Price Beauty" would star Nita Naldi and a young Myrna Loy and "Do Clothes Make The Woman" starring British actor (and later the first sound version of Sherlock Holmes) Clive Brook which would later be re-titled "When Love Grows Cold" over her objections. In a surprising turn of events both films went wildly over-budget and lost money. What really ended her film career was the insistence of the studio in going behind her back and billing her as "Mrs Rudolph Valentino", the outraged Natacha stomped out and vowed to never work in Hollywood again, and did not.



By that time her time in Hollywood was clearly over anyway since her marriage to Valentino was on the rocks, a publicly acrimonious divorce happened during the filming in 1925. She did not work in film or theater again, however her career in the arts was far from over. She would become a respected figure in fashion and design as well as an authority on Egyptian art and hieroglyphs working with famed archaeologist Howard Carter (discoverer of King tut) and writing and teaching on the subject. She would later marry a Spanish aristocrat and move to Europe where they would find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide in the 1930's as he became a prominent Fascist naval commander and she would run to France and later divorce him. Returning to America during the war she would busy herself in writing about Egyptian astrology and numerology and extending her interests to Tibet and Nepal as well, collecting artifacts which would be donated to the Philadelphia Museum Of Art. She died in 1966 aged 69.

NATACHA & RUDY

As for other figures in their story; Rudolph Ventino had seen his career go into decline under the controlling leadership of the controversial Natacha, however his next two films; "The Eagle" and "The Son Of The Sheik" were popular hits that restored much of his audience. He took up with sultry screen star Pola Negri, reconciled with screenwriter June Mathis was making plans to direct when he died suddenly in 1926 from complications from surgery for appendicitis and an ulcer aged only 31. His death brought about the largest funeral ever seen for an actor and cemented his figure as the timeless Latin lover, however it is doubtful he could have survived the end of the silent era in 1928 as his grasp of the English language was always somewhat tenuous. Charles Bryant never worked in film after "Salome" and his hostile divorce from Nazimova. His heiress wife Marjorie divorced him in 1936 and he returned to the theatre. He died in 1948 age 69 several months after Marjorie remarried. Theodore Kosloff, Natacha's first collaborator, went on to appear in several films for DeMille until the coming of sound and his lack of English ended his acting career. He continued to work as a choreographer until his death in 1956 at 74. Jean Acker, Nazimova's lover and Valentino's first wife, would never see her career take off although she would continue to work in minor supporting film roles for the next thirty years. She became much better known for her scandalous private life which included many affairs with wealthy men until she lost her fortune in the stockmarket crash and sued one in 1930, and lost. Thereafter she took up with a former Ziegfield showgirl named Clohe Carter with whom she would live until her death in 1978 aged 84. Another Nazimova flame, Patsy Ruth Miller (Nichette in "Camile") would have a more impressive career. After "Camile she would continue acting with her best known role as the gypsy girl Esmerelda in the iconic Lon Chaney 1923 version of "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame". She would make several other films into the sound era until retiring from film after 1931 to concentrate on writing for which she would win three O.Henry Awards. She had the longest life of all dying in 1995 at the age of 91.

JEAN ACKER


As for Cecil DeMille he would continue to make epic films well into the sound era including "The Ten Commandments". He died in 1959. Gloria Swanson saw her career go into decline with the advent of sound although she would make a spectacular comeback in "Sunset Strip" as the faded and delusional silent film star Nora Desmond, a role that had also been offered to Pola Negri who indignantly turned it down. The film would also co-star Erich Von Stroheim and a cameo by DeMille as himself. She died in 1983. Bebe Daniels (Sally in "Why Change Your Wife") would have a successful career as a romantic leading lady and glamorous model during the silent era, dying in 1971.

PATSY RUTH MILLER


Among actors mentioned; Noah Berry (Sam Wang in "Red Lantern") had a successful career mostly playing heavies well into the sound era dying in 1946. His brother Wallace had an even more successful film career although his two year marriage to Gloria Swanson was less successful (he considered her an insufferable, social-climbing snob). His son Noah jr would also become an actor best known for playing the father in the 1970's series "The Rockford Files". Darrell Foss saw his career peter out long before the silent era ended but would outlive most of his contemporaries dying in 1962. Anna May Wong, who got her first role in "Red Lantern", would go to a long and successful career in Hollywood becoming the first Asian-American film star and an icon for Asian actors, her fame eclipsing Nazimova's. Screenwriter June Mathis died suddenly in 1927 while watching a play aged only 38. Zeffie Tilbury (Prudence in "Camile") would have an even longer career into her old age including appearing as Ma Joad in "The Grapes Of Wrath". Alan Hale (Nazimova's caddish husband in "A Doll's House") would have a minor but respectable career as a film heavy as well as but is best known for his multiple appearances as Little John in various "Robin Hood" films as well as for his son Alan Hale Jr who would go on to an acting career of his own in the 1960's appearing in Clint Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High" and as the Skipper in the television sitcom "Gilligan's Island".

ANNA MAY WONG


A couple of Nazimova's leading men met bad ends; Lou Tellegen ("The Redeeming Sin") would kill himself in a spectacular manner by committing a bloody sepuku on a pile of old press notices in 1935. Jack Pickford ("My Son") would see his career hit the skids and his alcoholism worsen until he died in 1933 aged 36. Rex Cherryman (Gaston in "Camile") seemed to have a promising career in both film and Broadway when he died suddenly of sepsis in 1928 aged 31, the same age as Valentino. Director Albert Capellani ("Red Lantern") made only a few more movies before returning to France where he died in 1931 of diabetes aged only 57.



VERNON DALHART ~ "THE GARDEN OF ALLA" (circa 1918);